Brandt brilliant in Vikings' district title win

HAMLER — Through four innings at Friday's Division IV district final in Hamler, Leipsic and Mason Brandt could do no wrong against Miller City. The Vikings were cruising, up 5-0, and Brandt was in the middle of a perfect game on the mound. "I was feeling good," the senior pitcher said. "You try not to think about it, but it's in the back of your mind, but yeah, I felt good. The curveball was working nice and the guys behind me were making plays." What came after the fourth inning, though, might've been more impressive from the University of Findlay basketball signee. After allowing the first four batters in the top of the fifth inning to reach and three runners to score to make it 5-3, Brandt got the Wildcats' CJ Lehman to pop his bunt up to him. Brandt caught it off the mound, saw MC's Dillon Peck was running on contact from first base and hurled the ball to first to get the double play and kill all momentum as the Vikings won, 5-4, to get back to the regional tournament. The Vikings aren't sure who they'll play next, as Mother Nature keeps postponing the Coldwater district games. But, it'll be Lincolnview, Lima Central Catholic or Saint Henry. Miller City finishes the season at 16-10. "That was huge, and it was a huge momentum changer for us, too," Brandt said of the fifth-inning double play. "All the momentum was on their side, obviously, they got their hits and broke it open a little bit." "They doubled us off, which took the wind out of our sails there," Miller City head coach Dustin Pester said. "But we didn't quit and that's what we talked about from the fourth inning on. We might be down, but we're going down swinging and going down fighting." Pester's team took that message to heart as the clinic the Wildcats put up at the plate didn't stop after the fifth inning. Miller City had the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth, then had runners on second and third with one out in the seventh. But Brandt never faltered, allowing just one run in that span. "He hadn't throw that many pitches, so I think he was fine, but he just threw a couple down the middle," Leipsic head coach Darren Henry said. "You gotta keep it out of the middle and change speeds because they're a good hitting team. We weren't going to no-hit them, they've got too many good hitters, but I knew it was going to be interesting." Brandt finished the game with seven strikeouts and three earned runs in a complete-game effort. "Mason did a good job mixing his pitches, keeping us off balance and he worked down in the zone," Pester said. "We popped the ball up a lot tonight, which is uncharacteristic of what we do. So I think he had enough movement on his pitches to keep the ball off our barrels." Brandt got Miller City to fly out nine times. "I was worried about the pitching more than anything else (coming into the season)," Henry said. Easy to see why he thought that, too. Leipsic lost arguably its two best pitchers — and players — in Tyler Sickmiller and Trey Schroeder, who graduated from last year's regional finalist team. "But then, Luke Spoors just really kept getting stronger as the season went on and Mason, too," Henry said. "We started pitching him a little more and he just kept going 'Coach, I feel comfortable,' and he's pitched real well." Henry's probably thanking his lucky stars that he found two more stellar hurlers. And now, the Vikings are back in the regional tournament. Miller City &emsp;&emsp;0 0 0 0 3 0 1—4 5 1 Leipsic &emsp;&emsp;2 0 3 0 0 0 X—5 7 2 WP—Brandt. LP—Warnimont. TOP HITTERS: (MC) Deitering 2B, 2 RBI. (LEIP) Liffick 1B, 3B, RBI, Brandt 1B, RBI, 2 SB. RECORDS: Miller City 16-10; Leipsic 17-7.