Vikings blank Riverdale, reach regional final

By DAVE HANNEMAN ELIDA – Leipsic's Tommy Offenbacher pitched a two-hit shutout and delivered offensively as well, going 4-for-4 with a pair of two-run doubles, as the Vikings thumped Riverdale 10-0 on Thursday in a Division IV regional baseball semifinal at Elida's Ed Sandy Field. "I think our tournament experience helped us, for sure," said Leipsic coach Darren Henry, who has the Vikings in the regional for the third time in four years. "I was a little worried because we had not played in about a week. (But) We have six guys who have played a lot of tournament baseball. They've played in the regional. They've played in district finals. "They've played three, four years for us and when we came out today, they were ready to go. "That was huge." Banging out 11 hits and taking advantage of uncharacteristic Riverdale errors, Leipsic took control of the game with three-run rallies in the second and third innings. Offenbacher's bases-loaded double in the bottom of the fifth inning, his second two-run double of the game, plated the two runs that triggered the run-rule victory. Leipsic improved to 25-2 and will face Fort Recovery (13-12), which beat Montpelier 14-4 in Thursday's second semifinal at Elida, today at 5 p.m. in the regional final. The winner will advance to a June 8 Division IV state semifinal at Canal Park in Akron. Riverdale entered Thursday's game with a single-season school record 23 wins. It was a Murphy's Law kind of day for the Falcons, though, because anything that could go wrong, often did. "The ball definitely did not bounce the way we wanted it to, but we had a lot to do with that," said Riverdale coach Drew Bostic. "There were a lot of plays we should have made and didn't. Defensively, I'd say it was the poorest we looked all year and, unfortunately, it was today." Leipsic's run in the bottom of the fourth inning typified that "Murphy's Law" kind of day. Ty Lammers reached on a one-out single, then stole second. The throw down by Riverdale catcher Alex Russler was on target, but bounced in front of the play and caromed into centerfield. Lammers was quickly up and running for third, and that relay throw also hit short, took a big hop over the glove of Justin Gonzales, and rolled into foul ground, allowing Lammers to scamper home. Leipsic scored its first run on a passed ball, and capitalized on two Riverdale errors during its three-run rally in the second. The second inning stated with Colin Niese looping what looked like a no-mans-land single to right center. Lammers, head down and running all the way, turned the hit into a triple with the kind of speed and quickness that made any bobble or hesitation an opportunity for Leipsic to get another man on base. "We have guys that can run," Henry said. "When we get on (base), we want to take advantage of their speed." Leipsic did considerable damage with the bats as well. Freshman Avery Paris, Leipsic's No. 9 hitter, laced an RBI double in the second inning, and lead-off man Quin Schroeder fouled off five two-strike pitches before delivering an RBI double in the third. Both of Offenbacher's two-run doubles were ropes to the fence in left center. "They battled Evan (Reiter) on every pitch," Bostic said of Evan Reiter, Riverdale's ace this season. "That Schroeder kid that one inning saw 10 pitches. Credit them, they put the ball in play." In a regular-season matchup between the two teams, Leipsic eked out a 4-3 win over the Falcons. That's why Thursday's outcome left Henry a bit confused. "I never thought we'd score that many runs," he said. "We didn't see (Reiter) in that first game, so I'm thinking runs are going to be at a premium today. "We were ready to go, though. We had some great at bats against him, and they had a couple of errors that were huge, just huge. We had a couple of balls bounce our way, like that triple. Some of those hits were just in the right spot, so it helps to have a little luck in there, too." Nick Schroeder, John Dewar or Lammers are the prospects to start Leipsic's regional final with Fort Recovery. "That's something to talk about with the assistant coaches." Henry said. "I haven't thought that far ahead. I was just concerned with this game today." With just three seniors on this year's roster, Bostic is hoping Riverdale's best season in years is perceived as a beginning, not an end in itself. "Those three seniors (Russler, Gauge King, Cameron Furr) started since they were freshmen," Bostic said. "We needed them to be leaders and they did a heckuva job, this year especially. "This is the longest we've been able to play for a long time. What they accomplished, our win total, getting to the regional for the first time in 23 years …. That's something to be very proud of." Riverdale &emsp;&emsp;000&emsp;&emsp;00—0 2 &emsp;&emsp;5 Leipsic &emsp;&emsp;133&emsp;&emsp;12—10 11 &emsp;&emsp;1 WP—Offenbacher (9-1), LP—Reiter (6-3). TOP HITTERS: (Riv) Reiter 1B, 2B. (Leip) Q. Schroeder 1B, 2B, RBI; Offenbacher 2-12B, 2-2B, 4 RBI; Niese 3B; Camareno 2-1B; Pris 1B, 2B, RBI.