Patience at the plate and fire from the mound added up to a win.
Benjamin Logan extended its postseason run with a 5-1 victory over Eaton on their home field Tuesday in Division IV baseball.
The Raiders, now back over .500 at 13-12, advance to the district final on Friday. They will face either Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy or Bishop Fenwick. The game is set for 5 p.m. at Arcanum.
Senior left-hander Bryden Morris and sophomore Jacob Hawley combined for a one-hitter against the Eagles Tuesday.
Morris had nine strikeouts and six walks, while Hawley walked two and got one strikeout.
“Our pitchers have been really good all year,” said Raiders head coach Jeremy Allen. “Bryden’s been the senior leader that we needed and it was great to see Hawley to come in and pitch really well.”
At the plate, senior Camden Spriggs had two doubles, two walks and two RBIs. Carter Lyden singled and walked twice, and AJ Griffith had two hits, with two RBIs for Griffith and one for Lyden.
“The last week and a half, two weeks, we have been really good at the plate. That patience and clutch hitting really came into play for us,” Allen.
Eaton’s starter, freshman Evan Seider, gave up five runs in 1 2/3 innings. He walked seven, including two with the bases loaded. Trevor Davis pitched the rest of the game, allowing four hits and three walks, with eight strikeouts.
The Eagles’ only score came on a solo home run by Gavin Winings. Besides walks, the only other man to reach came on a dropped fly ball.
Carter Lyden got a one out walk in the bottom of the first. Seider struck out Morris, but then gave up a solid double by Spriggs to the alley in right-center. Lyden, who had taken second and third on wild pitches, scored easily.
Morris struck out three of four in the top of the second. In the home half, Cayden Brown, Oliver Morse and Soli Hughes all were put on with walks.
Another one to Lyden forced in Brown. Morris was retired on a popup behind the plate for the second out, with the first having been a sacrifice bunt by Xavier Allen.
A walk to Spriggs forced in Morse to make it 3-0, and ended Seider’s day on the hill. The first pitch from Davis was zipped by Griffith into right field, with Hughes and Lyden racing around to push the lead to five.
A walk to Yelton brought Brown up for the second time. He flied out to right to halt the bleeding.
Both sides went in order in the third. In the Eagles fourth, Davis got a leadoff walk, but Morris then got Seider to bounce one to Lyden at third. It was sent around the horn for a double play.
That proved important as Winings turned on the first pitch he saw and sent it sailing over the fence in right field to break up the no-hitter and shutout bid. After a walk, a fly ball to right ended the at-bat.
Spriggs doubled in the bottom half, but was left aboard as the other batters went down on strikes.
Morris completed his second time through the Eagles’ lineup in the fifth. He walked the leadoff hitter, then got a strikeout and flyout to left. Two more walks created some pressure, but a fly to center by Seider kept the lead safe.
The Raiders again had one left on in the bottom half.
Ben Logan sent out Hawley for the sixth. Winings reached on a dropped fly ball. Hawley got Chase Overholtz to pop up behind the plate to Yelton. He walked two of the next three, but quickly escaped the jam with a flyout to center.
The Raiders threatened in the sixth with a pop fly single to center by Lyden, an intentional walk to Spriggs (with Carter Fay going in to run) and Griffith beating out an infield single to third, but were not able to get anything further.
Hawley made sure there would be no late drama, getting the final outs on a grounder to third, a popup to short and a ball in foul ground that was squeezed by Lyden.
Allen noted that one of the goals for the season was to play for a district title, which the Raiders will now do on Friday. “We like our chances. We’re playing really good baseball right now and if we go play another good game we’ll give ourselves a chance.”
The winner of Friday’s contest moves on to the Region 16 semifinals next Wednesday in Xenia.