Graham 5, Benjamin Logan 4
Graham and Benjamin Logan battled in a tight, back-and-forth game, and the Falcons came out on top with a walk-off 5-4 win after a late Raiders comeback.
Both starters—Soli Hughes for Benjamin Logan and Nathan Crisler for Graham—were sharp early. The Raiders had multiple chances, loading the bases in the second and putting runners in scoring position again in the third, but couldn’t break through.
Graham finally struck in the fourth. With the bases loaded, Kingston McWilliams drew a walk to bring in the first run, and Brody Jenkins followed with a bunt that made it 2-0. A passed ball and a sacrifice fly from Crisler pushed the lead to 4-0.
Benjamin Logan continued to threaten but couldn’t capitalize until the sixth, when Micah Gregg led off with a double and Jacob Hawley drove him in with a two-out single.
The Raiders then made things interesting in the seventh. Adam Tinsman doubled to start the rally, and later Carter Fay drove in a run before a balk tied the game at 4-4.
Graham had the final say.
The Falcons loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, and after an out at the plate, McWilliams worked another walk—his third of the game—to force in the winning run and secure the 5-4 victory.
McWilliams led Graham with three walks and the game-winning RBI, while Kase Loudenback added two hits. Tinsman paced Benjamin Logan with a multi-hit day, and Hawley and Fay each recorded an RBI.
Graham improves to 2-8 and will host Tecumseh on Friday, while Benjamin Logan falls to 5-5 and will host Bellefontaine.
Indian Lake 14, North Union 2 (5 innings)
Indian Lake’s bats came alive in a big way, rolling past North Union 14-2 in a run-rule victory.
The Lakers wasted no time jumping on the Wildcats. Nixon Lillard and Cooper Hall set the tone by reaching base to open the game, and Chance Persinger brought them both home with a line drive single to left. RBI knocks from Reed Strayer and a defensive miscue pushed the lead to 4-0 after just one inning.
The offense only kept building from there.
With two outs in the second, the Lakers delivered a knockout punch. Back-to-back two-RBI singles from Strayer and Lane Kipker stretched the lead to 9-0, and Hall later added another RBI after Lillard led off with a triple.
Indian Lake continued to pour it on in the third. A sacrifice fly from Strayer and another RBI single from Kipker made it 12-0, putting the run rule firmly in sight.
North Union showed some fight in the bottom of the third, stringing together a pair of RBI singles to get on the board, but the momentum didn’t last long.
The Lakers answered right back in the fifth, as Kipker came through again with a clutch two-out, two-RBI single to cap the scoring at 14-2. From there, Grant Wickline shut the door, finishing off a strong complete-game effort to secure the win.
Kipker led the offensive surge with three hits and five RBIs, while Strayer followed closely with two hits and four RBIs. Persinger and Lillard each added multi-hit performances as well.
Indian Lake improves to 5-4 and rides a four-game winning streak into Friday’s matchup with London.
Jonathan Alder 4, Urbana 1
Urbana couldn’t quite get the offense going and dropped a 4-1 decision to Jonathan Alder, as the Pioneers completed the season sweep.
The Hillclimbers threatened early, putting two runners on in the first, but a double play ended the opportunity. Alder then capitalized in the bottom half with an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead.
Urbana answered in the third by loading the bases with three walks. Grady Lantz drove in the tying run on a fielder’s choice, allowing Tate Lantz to cross the plate and even the score at one.
But the Pioneers responded immediately.
A well-executed sacrifice bunt turned into a big inning, as two runs came home on the play to give Alder a 3-1 advantage. They later added an insurance run on a wild pitch in the fifth.
The Hillclimbers had chances, including putting two runners on in the fifth, but couldn’t deliver the timely hit.
Grady Lantz was outstanding on the mound despite the loss, striking out 13 batters while allowing just three hits.
Urbana falls to 5-5 and will look to bounce back Friday at North Union.
Kenton Ridge 16, Bellefontaine 2 (5 innings)
Kenton Ridge’s powerful lineup proved too much for Bellefontaine, as the Cougars rolled to a 16-2 run-rule win.
The Cougars set the tone early with a six-run first inning, highlighted by a two-RBI double and a bases-clearing three-run double to quickly build a commanding lead.
Bellefontaine showed life in the second inning when Patrick Stolly reached base and Sammy Kline crushed a two-run homer over the left field fence to cut into the deficit.
However, that was as close as the Chiefs would get.
Kenton Ridge continued to pile on, adding a run in the second, five more in the third—including a two-out grand slam—and four in the fourth, capped by another three-run blast.
Kline’s home run accounted for the bulk of Bellefontaine’s offense, with Stolly and Sutton Daring adding the only other hits.
Bellefontaine falls to 6-3 and will travel to Benjamin Logan on Friday.
