Sluggers pound out 12-1 win

SLUGGERS &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;12 COPPERHEADS &emsp;&emsp;1 ATHENS – Flag City used two three-run innings and solid pitching to forge a big early lead and went on to chalk up a 12-1 win over the Southern Ohio Copperheads on Friday in a Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League game at Bob Wren Field in Athens. Matt Gardner delivered RBI singles in the second and seventh innings, singled and scored in the fourth, and walked and scored in the sixth in helping Flag City jump ahead 7-0. Brett Reed and Will Lafferty added RBI singles in Flag City's three-run fourth inning rally. Harrison Engskov doubled in a run and Cameron Baker added a two-run single in the sixth. Gardner, Engskov, Lafferty and Caleb Smith all had RBI singles during a five-run rally in the seventh. Cameron Baker started on the mound for Flag City, and struck out seven through three scoreless innings. Jacob Brandon pitched a 1-2-3 fourth and struck out two of the four batters he faced in the fifth. Talmadge Davis finished up for the Sluggers (9-9), who face Southern Ohio again today in Athens before hosting the Copperheads (8-11) Sunday in a 4:05 p.m. game at Fifth Third Field. During a quick stop home between trips to southern Ohio, the Sluggers managed to pound out a 6-1 win over Xenia in Thursday's late game at Fifth Third Field. Six Flag City pitchers combined on a four-hitter with nine total strikeouts. Carter Klausing, a Norwalk native who pitches for Tiffin University and a recent addition to the Sluggers staff, went the first four innings for the win. Engskov belted a two-run first-inning home run to spark Flag City offensively. It was the Sluggers fifth home run of the season, and fourth in five games after going yard just once in their first 12 games. FRIDAY'S GAME &emsp;&emsp; Flag City &emsp;&emsp;010 &emsp;&emsp;303 &emsp;&emsp;5—12 14 &emsp;&emsp;0 S. Ohio &emsp;&emsp;000 &emsp;&emsp;001 &emsp;&emsp;0—1 4 &emsp;&emsp;3 WP—C. Baker. LP—Adair. TOP HITTERS: (FC) Lafferty 3-1B, 2 RBI; M. Gardner 3-1B, 2 RBI; Reed 2-1B, RBI; Engskov 1B, 2B, 2 RBI. C. Smith 2-1B, RBI. THURDAY'S GAME Xenia &emsp;&emsp;000 &emsp;&emsp;000 &emsp;&emsp;100—1 4 &emsp;&emsp;5 Flag City &emsp;&emsp;210 &emsp;&emsp;120 &emsp;&emsp;00x—6 8 &emsp;&emsp;2 WP—Klausing. LP—Kaiser. TOP HITTERAS: (Xen) Reyes 3B. (FC) Reed 1B, RBI; Engskov HR, 2 RBI; Ca. Smith 2B; Ruch 1B, 2B, RBI. (14-sub head) Tennis returns To Mason COLUMBUS – The Ohio High School Athletic Association and Beemok Sports and Entertainment announced on Friday that the OHSAA girls and boys tennis state tournaments will return to the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason for the next three years. The professional tennis facility in Southwest Ohio hosted the OHSAA tennis state tournaments from 2014 through the spring of 2022 before undergoing renovations. The College of Wooster hosted the state tournaments the last two years. The OHSAA girls tennis season begins August 8 and the state tournament will be October 16-17. Schedule SATURDAY'S EVENTS GLSCL BASEBALL Findlay at Southern Ohio Copperheads, 7:05 p.m. SUNDAY'S EVENTS GLSCL BASEBALL Southern Ohio Copperheads at Flag City, 4:05 p.m.