By The Examiner Staff
MECHANICSBURG — West Liberty-Salem knocked Mechanicsburg from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 6-5 road win in Ohio Heritage Conference baseball on Monday.
The Tigers improve to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the OHC. The Indians are also 6-1 in the league and now 9-1 overall.
Jake Evans got the victory, throwing 6 1/3 innings. He allowed just one hit, with two of the five runs being earned. He had seven strikeouts and four walks.
Getting the final outs were Tim Howells and Brody Deam. Howells faced three batters, getting a force out, then walking two. Deam sealed the win with a strikeout.
Evans did his part at the plate as well, hitting a home run and double with two RBIs. JJ Johnson had a double and three RBIs. Also hitting doubles were Reese Oder and Isaiah Reames. Howells drove in the other run.
The first three Tigers batters — Caleb Hershberger, Isaac Sertell and Reames — all drew walks from Mechanicsburg starter Matthew Davis. Johnson then hit the first pitch he saw into center, clearing the bases and putting WL-S up early.
Deam and Evans would also walk, but the Indians escaped any further damage.
The visitors drew even with three runs in the bottom of the third on a walk, single and a couple of mistakes by the Tigers defense.
Oder opened the fifth with a double. Dallas Koons had a single, then Evans doubled to score Oder. Howells hit one to center, which was caught, but Koons tagged up and scored to make it 5-3.
Things moved to the seventh. After the first two batters struck out, Evans hit it over the fence.
Taking the mound in the bottom half, Evans got the leadoff man, then walked the next three hitters.
Howells took over and induced a grounder to third. The ball was thrown back to the plate for a force out, but the Indians’ next runner was safe.
One walk re-loaded the bases, and another forced in a run. The Tigers went to Deam who got the next man swinging at strike three.
The teams will meet again today at the Tigers’ home field. Game time is 5 p.m.
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Indian Lake 6, Northwestern 1
Indian Lake got a win over visiting Northwestern in Central Buckeye Conference action.
The Lakers are now 6-2 in the CBC and 7-3 overall, and lead the Mad River Division.
Madden Lillard was the winning pitcher, allowing just one hit and no walks, with nine strikeouts in six innings. Tyler Tidwell had three more K’s in the seventh.
Lane Kipker drove in two runs, with one RBI each for Lillard, Kolton Cummins and Bryce Burton.
The Warriors got their run in the top of the second.
Indian Lake had just one hit through the first four innings. In the bottom of the fifth, they did all their damage, batting around with five hits and a walk.
The teams play against Wednesday at Northwestern, starting at 5:15 p.m.
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Shawnee 4, Ben Logan 3
Shawnee edged host Benjamin Logan in CBC play. The Raiders fall to 4-4 in the league and 6-7 overall.
Jacob Hawley pitched a complete game and took the loss for Ben Logan. He allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out four.
Camden Spriggs had an RBI triple, while Soli Hughes collected three hits.
Each side scored twice in the first inning. Shawnee got a run in the third, with Ben Logan answering in the fifth.
In the top of the seventh, Shawnee got a walk and single to start. After a strikeout, an error on a fly ball gave the Braves the lead.
Hughes singled in the bottom half, but Shawnee turned a double play, then got a groundout.
The squads will face off Wednesday in Springfield at 5:15 p.m.
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Riverside 3, Twin Valley South 1
Riverside topped Twin Valley South in nonleague action at home.
The contest was scoreless through 4 1/2 innings. The Pirates then scored two in the fifth and one in the sixth. TVS got one back in its final at-bat, but was shut down after that.
Getting the victory was Brody Orsborne, with a complete game. He put up 13 strikeouts, while yielding three hits and six walks.
Gavin Orsborne and Aiden Manning each had two hits and an RBI. Syler Clark doubled and Camden Shoe drove in the other run.
In the fifth, Hayden Sanford walked, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Landon Purtee. Cooper Crouch was hit by a pitch.
Singles by Gavin Orsborne and Manning brought those runners around.
In the sixth, Clark doubled, stole third and scored on an error.
Twin Valley South loaded the bases in the seventh on two walks and a single. A flyout got one run home, but a second runner was tagged out, Orsborne then got the final out on strikes.
Riverside (1-7 TRC, 5-9 overall) hosts Bethel today at 5 p.m.
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Jonathan Alder 14, Bellefontaine 3
Bellefontaine lost to visiting Jonathan Alder in a CBC matchup.
The Pioneers scored eight runs in the first three innings. Bellefontaine scored three in the sixth, but Alder responded with six in the seventh.
Bellefontaine is 2-5 in the CBC and 3-7 overall.
Starter Luke LeVan pitched two innings, allowing seven runs on three hits and five walks. Beckham Harman then went 4 2/3, also giving up seven runs, with 10 hits for Alder. He walked six and struck out one. Recording the final out was Jose Sandoval.
Harman hit a double and drove in a run. Lincoln Banta had two RBIs.
The teams play again on Wednesday with Alder as the home team. First pitch is 5:15 p.m.