By JIM COX

DHI Correspondent

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VAN WERT - Van Wert lefties Ryan Stoller and Andrew Todd stymied St. John’s Saturday as the Cougars routed the Blue Jays 10-0 and 11-1. The twin victories extended Van Wert’s winning streak to nine and its record to 12-4. St. John’s is now 4-9.

By JIM METCALFE

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DELPHOS — Lima Central Catholic got the bats out early and kept them going as they rallied for a 9-5 Northwest Conference baseball triumph on a pleasant Saturday afternoon at Wildcat Field.

Nick Watkins (3-2) went six innings for the Thunderbirds (11-5, 5-0) in ceding five hits and five runs (2 earned), walking three, hitting two and fanning one. Colin Stolly threw an inning of 1-hit relief. LCC committed three errors behind them but also turned three double plays.

COLUMBUS GROVE — Key hitting and one big inning was all the Columbus Grove baseball team needed as they scored five runs in their Putnam County League tilt against the Kalida Wildcats as the host overcame a 2-0 deficit to score five runs in the fourth to grab their 10th consecutive win with a 5-2 triumph over the Wildcats.

Both starting pitchers: Trey Roney for the Bulldogs and Austin Swift for the Wildcats; went the distance. Roney struck out six and walked none, while the freshman Swift got the loss as four of the five runs scored were earned; he walked four and struck out one.

DELPHOS — St. John’s senior Curtis Geise had come off a tough 3-0 loss to Midwest Athletic Conference power Minster Monday when he took the mound versus fellow MAC foe Marion Local on a pleasant Friday afternoon/evening at Stadium Park.

Working on 3-days’ rest, he proved to be a bulldog as he went the distance in leading the Blue Jays to a 7-4 triumph.

Though he didn’t have his best stuff, tossing 136 pitches (76 strikes), he ceded seven hits and four runs (3 earned), walking three and fanning seven.

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DELPHOS — THE inning.
That is the dreaded inning of many a baseball or fast-pitch softball game where everything goes wrong for a team — or goes right for the opponent.
In the Allen East at Jefferson Northwest Conference softball clash Thursday night at windy Lady Wildcat Field at Jefferson High School, that “inning” came in the top of the fourth where the Lady Mustangs sent 13 to the plate and had eight touch the dish to blow open the game and eventually led to a 14-3 rout.

The Lady Wildcats (0-8, 0-3 NWC) took the lead in the bottom of the first frame. Sarah Thitoff led off with a free pass against Allen East righty Aubren Davis (6-4; 4 innings pitched, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 free pass, 4 strikeouts) but was eliminated on a grounder by Hannah Sensibaugh (2-for-3, 2 runs scored). The latter moved to second on a groundout by Taylor Branham and scored as Jasmine McDougall (2-for-3) doubled to deep center.

Allen East tied it 1-1 in the top of the second against Jefferson righty Taylor Branham (0-7; 5 IPs, 13 hits, 14 runs, 10 earned, 7 wild pitches, 2 hit batters, 1 BB, 4 Ks) on a 1-out error, a stolen base by Kyle Wyss (one of the team’s 12 for the contest) and a bloop single to right center by Sierra Sizemore (2-for-3, 2 runs batted in).
The Mustangs made it 4-1 in the third on three wild pitches, an error and two hits, including a single by Madison Schantz. They also had a suicide squeeze executed by Kaycee Rowe (2-for-3, 3 runs, 2 RBIs) to score Schantz and an RBI comebacker by Wyss to get Rowe in for a 3-run edge.