Legion opens tourney with 3-0 win

HILLSBORO – Ben Best pitched a three-hit shutout and Jordan Vallejo and Mason Johnson belted RBI doubles on Friday when Findlay's Post 3 Legion baseball team opened play in the Hillsboro Wooden Bat Tournament with a 3-0 win over Piqua. Best struck out 12, walked just one and improved his record to 2-0 with a complete-game effort. Findlay's win was "doubly" impressive. Vallejo doubled in Evan Reiter in the first inning, Ashton Crawford doubled and scored on an error in the fifth, and Vallejo singled and scored on Johnson's double in the sixth. Findlay (10-2) will face Greenville today at 1:30 p.m., Hillsboro at 4 p.m., and Waverly in Sunday's 10 a.m. opener. The results of those games will determine the pairings for the championship round. Friday's win was Findlay's fourth straight. No. 3 was a 6-4 win over Pemberville on Wednesday when Johnson tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning and Braeden Jordan won it with a two-run single in the tenth. Pemberville led 2-0 on Jackson Bauer's RBI single in the first inning and 4-1 on Connor Norton's two-run double in the fifth. Findlay got a run back when Evan Reiter doubled and scored in the fourth inning. In the seventh, Lincoln Garlock walked, Jordan singled and both scored on separate ground outs. Johnson's two-out homer then evened it at 4-4. In the tenth, Brady Birkemeier lined a one-out single and Lincoln Garlock drew a two-out walk before Jordan plated them both with his third hit of the game. Vallejo got the win, his third in three decisions, and Best the save. Vallejo gave up just one hit and zero runs after coming on in relief with two runs in and two outs in the bottom of the fifth innings. The big right-hander retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced, striking out nine. Best took over in the bottom of the tenth, and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam to earn Post 3 its third straight win. Jordan (2-1B, 2B) and Kam Garlock (3-1B) had three hits each for Findlay. HILLSBORO TOURNEY Findlay 100 &emsp;&emsp;011 &emsp;&emsp;0—3 6 1 Piqua 000 &emsp;&emsp;000 &emsp;&emsp;0—0 3 1 WP—Best (2-0). LP—Leist. TOP HITTERS: (Fin) Vallejo 1B, 2B, RBI; Crawford 2B; Johnson 2B, RBI. FINDLAY 6, PEMBERVILLE 4 Findlay&emsp;&emsp;000 100 300 2—6 12 1 Pemberville 200 020 000 0—4 5 2 WP—Vallejo (3-0). LP—Greulich. TOP HITTERS: (Fin) Jordan 2-1B, 2B, 2 RBI; K. Garlock 3-1B; Vallejo 2-1B; Johnson HR, RBI; Reiter 2B, RBI. (Pem) Bauer 1B, 2B, RBI; Norton 2B, 2 RBI. (14-sub head) FAGA golf FOSTORIA – Fresh off an appearance in the Ohio Junior Championship, Van Buren senior-to-be Carson Foltz carded a 78 on Thursday in winning the boys 16-18 age division of the Findlay Area Golf Association tournament held at the Fostoria Country Club. Foltz edged Kobe Ratliff (80) in his division, while Marissa Cline (79) scored a one-stroke victory over Joslyn Hunt (80) in the girls 14-18 competition. Andrew Tomlinson's 81 topped the boys 14-15 tourney, and Reagan Wenzinger's 77 won the boys 12-13 event and was the low round of the day. Landon Byers (50) and Trysta Adams (65) placed first in the 9-hole competition among the younger players. FAGA GOLF AT FSOTORIA COUNTRY CLUB BOYS 16-18 – Carson Foltz 78; Kobe Ratliff 80; AJ Iliff 83. GIRLS 14-18 – Marissa Cline 79; Joslyn Hunt 80; Natalie Gutman 86. BOYS 14-15 – Andrew Tomlinson 81; Owen Vick 85; Chase Mullholand 87. BOYS 12-13 – Reagan Wenzinger 77; Cooper Ruhe 88; Mac Archer 96. BOYS 10-11 (9 holes) – Landon Byers 50; Griffin Vick 54; Brody Perrin 55. GIRLS 10-13 (9 holes) – Trysta Adams 65; Bayleigh Holman 69; Ava Brimley 70. (14-sub head) Foltz 20th DAYTON – Van Buren's Carson Foltz and Findlay's Payson Dotson were among four local and area golfers who competed in the 2023 Ohio Junior Championships held at the Miami Valley Golf Course. Foltz carded a 148 in the two-day event and tied for 20th. Dotson had a 156 and tied for 71st. Upper Sandusky's Brock Martin (153) tied for 50th place, and Kalida's Connor Nartker (146) tied for 13th.