New Riegel uses two-out hitting to down Arcadia

FINDLAY -- In each of the first two innings of Thursday's Division VII district semifinal between New Riegel and Arcadia, Redskins starting pitcher Isaac Stoner retired the first two batters.But for whatever reason, the Blue Jackets seemed to be at their best with two out.New Riegel scored six runs in the first inning and another one in the second, grabbing a 7-0 lead and never looking back in a 12-0, five-inning win.The Blue Jackets will advance to Saturday's 2 p.m. final against Hardin Northern, which beat McComb, 4-2, in the Thursday's first game at Findlay High School.The Blue Jackets sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning, getting a two-run single from Brighton Coffin and an RBI double in Shane Jones."It was two outs, and then a couple of good hits by their team," said Arcadia coach Tim Saltzman. "We had some struggles bouncing back."The Blue Jackets collected six hits in the inning."Two outs, you don't always expect a huge rally," said New Riegel coach Dereck Uitto. "(The hits) weren't cheapies. The kids really hit the ball hard. We've been scuffling a little bit offensively, but I thought we had a really good practice last night, and we came out ready to go."New Riegel added a two-out run in the second, then batted around again in the third -- getting a two-run single from Carter Clouse -- and scored another four times. Staked to a big lead, Jones -- New Riegel's starting pitcher -- got into a groove. He allowed a one-out double to Arcadia's Colin Musser in the first inning and a two-out single to Aiden Lynch. But that was all he allowed in four innings of work. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter."That seems to be how Shane starts out. Sometimes, he's just gotta get a feel for it," Uitto said. "But the thing is, with Shane, you always know he's going to get a feel for it. "He became dominant at one point. Yeah, only four innings, but a pretty dominant four innings."Jones gave way to Gabe Pugh for the top of the fifth. Pugh retired the Redskins in order, striking out a pair.Uitto said he pulled Jones after four innings so that that the hurler could pitch again if needed Saturday against the Polar Bears."I would expect a hard-fought battle," Uitto said of Saturday's final. Hardin Northern had a hard-fought game Thursday against the Panthers. After McComb scored a run in the top of the first on a Haiden Ebright sacrifice fly, Panther starter Braydon Shoop struggled with his control.Shoop walked the Polar Bears first three hitters, loading the bases and causing McComb coach Ross Shoup to bring in Luke Kern to pitch. Kern retired the Polar Bears' Nolan Hopson on a shallow fly out, but then walked Kruz Curtis to force in a run.That brought up Kaden Guinn, who delivered a two-run single to put HN up 3-1."We gave them scoring opportunities in the first inning, and they did enough," Shoup said. Kern got out of the inning without further damage, and McComb got within 3-2 in the third when Ebright again came through, this time with an RBI double.But the Panthers were unable to put up a big inning against Hardin Northern pitcher Xander Wilson, who pitched a complete seven innings and allowed five hits while walking four and striking out seven."He battled. That was the key," Polar Bears coach Brady Mast said of Wilson.. "The zone was a little bit tight, but it was consistent both ways. He threw a lot of pitches; he went right close to his limit. I think when he got runners on, he kind of beared down and got those outs."McComb had some late threats.In the fifth, Shoop walked and Ebright singled to right, and the ball got past the right fielder. Shoop raced around third, but put on the breaks, but which point Ebright was caught between second and third. A rundown ensued, and Shoop eventually was tagged out."We kind of got bunched up a little bit, gave them an opportunity to get an out," Shoup said. Now, with two down and a runner on third, McComb took a chance.A year ago -- when McComb faced Hardin Northern in the district semifinals at Marathon Diamonds -- the Panthers' Blake Wittenmyer scored on a straight steal of home. It helped spark McComb to a victory.Now, with Ebright on third and Grady Schroeder at the plate, Shoup had his team try that again."(Wilson) had missed high, early to Schroeder (with his pitches)... so I thought if he missed again, it created a good opportunity to score," Shoup said.But Thursday, when Ebright broke, Hopson -- the Hardin Northern catcher) was able to catch the pitch, step out, and tag out Ebright just before he touched the plate. "Nolan did a nice job of jumping out of there, recognizing it," Mast said. "Really just kind of put his glove down, so he wouldn't miss him. That was a huge play.""We were close," Shoup said. "I don't want to say (the Polar Bears) were anticipating it, but I think they adjusted with their pitches with runners on third today."Hardin Northern got an insurance run in the fifth, when a hit batter and an error led to another RBI single from Guinn, who ended whe day with three RBIs."(Guinn's) actually struggled the last couple games," Mast said. "That was really nice; those were some clutch base hits, putting the ball in play. Just as a senior leader, we expect that kind of thing."Bluffton put one more scare into the Polar Bears.In the top of the sixth, Schroeder walked and was forced at second on a Jace Wartgow fielder's choice. With two out, Trace Bryan doubled, sending Wartgow to third.That left it up to Camden Swain, who smacked a ball that looked like it would find the gap in left-center and -- potentially -- tie the game.But Hardin Northern left fielder Luke Price, moving to his left, tracked the ball down, catching it over his shoulder, to end the threat."That changes the game right there," Mast said. "Luke has been out for a couple of weeks with a sprained ankle; he's just now getting back to playing. He got a great jump on that and that was huge."Shoup gave credit to Price."Tournament baseball is interesting," Shoup said. "Sometimes in baseball, you can do a lot of things right, and just because you barrel a ball well...you've got to tip your cap to the defense."Shoop took the loss on the mound. Kern went six innings and allowed just two hits -- both RBI singles to Guinn -- while striking out five and walking five.Now, the top-seeded Polar Bears are on the doorstep of a district title. A showdown with New Riegel awaits. "We're looking forward to that," Mast said.