Ottawa - It was a pitchers duel involving six different arms yesterday from Memorial Park as the Toledo Hawks traveled to play the Ottawa Fighting 63rd.
Ian Schwab of Patrick Henry began the game on the mound for the Fightans. Toledo got started off of him early by a hit by pitch and single that put Hawks on the corners. Schwab didn't panic however and put down the next to batters with strikeouts in eight pitches.
Schwab was working in his patented breaking ball in all game and the Hawks were unable to truly adjust to it. That breaking ball mixed in with a heater led to high levels of success.
Luke Hermiller of the Hawks responded with a pair of strikeouts of his own in the first. Two Ottawa players were left on the basepath in the form of PCL player of the year Brenden Barlage (Miller City) and 1st team PCL performer Kyle Hopkins (Columbus Grove). Both were on due to walks.
The Hawks (using the legion extra hitter rule to bat 12) had the middle of their order due up and they delivered. After a leadoff groundout Oliver Keith and Hunter Loar both sent singles into shallow left field to put runners on first and second. Ian Schwab would take a deep breath and strand the runners there after a 4 pitch strikeout and a flyout to right.
Two outs to open up the bottom of the second inning made it look as the scoring drought would continue but Dalton Chiles (Lima Senior) walked in a full count then stole his way to scoring position and a wild pitch moved him one base from home to spark the Fightans. Grant Leopold, used to playing at Memorial Park as an Ottawa Glandorf Titan, blasted a ball past the shortstop and it was all Chiles needed to come on home and make it 1-0 Fighting 63rd.
Luke Hermiller would end his day after 2 innings having 1 run (0 ER), 1 hit, 3 strikeouts, 2 walks, and 2 wild pitches.
Ian Schwab continued this momentum and retired the side 1-2-3 with a pair of groundouts to Crestview Knight Ayden Hyitt and a strikeout swinging at a curveball. New pitcher Joey Miklovich would throw his lone inning in the third which consisted of a groundout, a single and stolen base from second team All-Ohioan Kyle Hopkins, a popout, and Miklovich's lone strikeout on three pitches.
Korbin Adkins would be hit in the helmet for the second time of the day by Schwab to open up the fourth inning. After a stolen base and groundout Adkins was at third and a passed ball would score him and tie the game at 1-1. Schwab picked up his last strikeout of the outing and a groundout ended the inning. Ian Schwab would pitch 4 innings, give up 3 hits, 1 run (0 ER), five strikeouts, no walks, and two hit batters.
Colten Scott (Perry) would give a welcoming gift to new pitcher Trace Murphy as he lined a ball into right field and was advanced to second on a perfect bunt from 2nd team PCL infielder Brayden Niese (Miller City). Dalton Chiles worked a count by fouling a pair of balls off down 0-2 and being hit by the fifth pitch to put him on first. Murphy had settled in and got Leopold and Stegaman down on eight pitches.
New pitcher for the Fighting 63rd, Miller City Wildcat Carter Niese, put the Hawks down 1-2-3 including a strikeout looking to Oliver Keith. Trace Murphy saw what Niese did and matched it himself. Murphy popped up the first out and then produced back to back strikeouts to end the 5th.
Trace Murphy was replaced after this inning and gave up no runs, one hit, three strikeouts, and one hit batter in his two innings of work for the Hawks.
Carter Niese struck out McCauley White but on the very next pitch Wyatt Flickinger blooped a ball into shallow left center for his lone hit of the day. In just two pitches the Fightans got out of it with a pair of flyouts, one to Chiles in left and the other to Colten Scott in right.
The strikeout streak that began in the 5th continued with the new pitcher, Cal Bickel, in inning number six as he opened up with back to back (making it four in a row). A walk, hit batter, and a wild pitch would put Brayden Niese on third and Dalton Chiles on the opposite corner. Grant Leopold couldn't convert either runner by striking out swinging through a fastball for the third out.
A groundout opened the final inning but it was followed by a walk and a stolen base putting Korbin Adkins in scoring position on second base. A single blasted by Hunter Scott and scored Adkins to make the score 2-1 giving the Hawks their first lead of the night. Two pitches later Hershbeger grounded into a 6-4-3 (Hyitt-Niese-H. Scott) double play ending the top of the seventh.
Case Stegaman (Van Wert) and Brendan Barlage were each walked in a combined nine pitches and a wild pitch would put both the tying and go ahead run in scoring position. Kyle Hopkins would check his swing on the first pitch and it essentially became a squeeze bunt down the first base line that scored Stegaman to make the score 2-2 and put Barlage on third. Two pitches later the Perry Commodore Hunter Scott sent a ground ball that hopped over the head of shortstop and allowed Barlage to dash home for the walk off win.
Cal Bickel would take the loss throwing 2 innings, 2 runs (2 ER), 1 hit, three strikeouts, two walks, and two wild pitches. Carter Niese would grab his first win of the year (1-0) pitching three innings, allowing 1 run (1 ER), two hits, two strikeouts, and a walk. The Fighting 63rd are now 6-2 and will play Pemberville tonight (June 10th) before competing in the Blissfield tournament this weekend.
Box Score
Tol. 2R 5H 0E 5LOB
Ott. 3R 5H 0E 8LOB