Crescent-News.com - Baseball: Bulldogs outlast rival Napoleon

By BRUCE HEFFLINGER

hefflinger@crescent-news.com

Napoleon gave the top-ranked team in the state all it could handle but Defiance busted loose for four runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, including a big three-run homer by Steve Riedel, and the Bulldogs went on to outlast the rival Wildcats 8-6 on Monday at Booster Field.

Napoleon, which lost to the Bulldogs 10-0 back in early April, led 2-0 after 31/2 innings behind the pitching of Mike Hesselschwardt, who had no-hit Defiance up to that point. But a costly error and some clutch two-strike hitting gave the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish.

'Hesselschwardt did a nice job against us the first three innings," noted DHS coach Tom Held. "He changed speeds, he was not overpowering but he got us on our front foot and we were lifting everything with routine fly balls.

"I was also impressed the way they swing the bats. They're a much improved team."

Adam Wagner led off the DHS fourth with a single but one out later the rally nearly ended with a potential double-play grounder to second off the bat of Dace Kime. But an error put runners on first and second and a walk to Riedel loaded the bases for designated hitter Ethan Rohlf. After falling behind in the count 0-2, the left-handed hitter battled back to a full count before ripping a two-run single to right field.

Craig Gutman then gave Defiance the lead with by hitting a 1-2 pitch to left to put the Bulldogs on top 4-2.

"Mike threw very well early in the game and we were able to put some pressure on them to grab the lead," said Napoleon coach Jason Zera. "But Defiance is a good tam and they will capitalize on any mistakes throughout the game. Unfortunately for us, a few mistakes in the fourth inning led to a big inning for Defiance and the three-run homer in the fifth seemed to be the difference."

Said Held: "You're going to get chances throughout games and we were able to take advantage of that miscue in that big inning. They make that play and you never know what happens.

"Ethan battled back and got the big hit to tie the game," Held continued. "He hit it right on the nose. Craig followed by doing the same thing with the two-strike hit. He put it in play and gave us the lead."

Justin Hancock came on in relief during the fifth inning to shut down Napoleon and then the Bulldogs added to their lead with four runs. An Alex Nofziger double and a Kime single was followed by the three-run blast by Riedel and with it a 7-2 Defiance advantage. The Bulldogs added one more run to make it 8-2 before Napoleon came back in the top of the sixth.

Jordan Kruse hit a double and Hesselschwardt reached on catcher's interference before both moved up a base on a ground out. Chase Heinze then trimmed the deficit to 8-4 with a two-run single. After a walk and strikeout, Kyle Niermann pulled the Wildcats closer with a two-run double, his third hit of the game.

But Hancock recorded a strikeout to end the frame, then had a one-two-three seventh inning to close out the victory and improve the Bulldogs to 18-1 on the season.

"We fought back and made it close, which is a credit to our players, but we just dug ourselves too big of a hole to get out of," said Zera, whose team fell to 9-9 on the season.

Starting pitcher Richie Killion picked up the win for the Bulldogs before relief help from Hancock.

"What impressed me was Richie and Justin both had good stuff," Held noted. "They were throwing it well but Napoleon found a way to put it in play. They had some great ABs. They're going to be a team to be concerned with in the tournament."

The Bulldogs are back in action today at Elida with a victory giving Defiance at least a share of another Western Buckeye League title.

Linescore

Napoleon 100 104 0 - 6 8 1

Defiance 000 440 x - 8 7 2

Records: Defiance 18-1, Napoleon 9-9.

Winning pitcher: Richie Killion (41/3 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks). Other: Justin Hancock.

Losing pitcher: Mike Hesselschwardt (4 innings, 7 runs, 6 hits, 1 strikeout, 3 walks) Other: Andrew Keller.

Leading hitters: (Napoleon, 8 hits) - Kyle Niermann 2 singles, double. (Defiance, 7 hits) - Alex Nofziger double; Steve Riedel home run, 3 RBI.