Tue Feb 09 2010
By BRUCE HEFFLINGER
ATHENS -- Austin Bower had six hits, Mark Sebring scored five runs and every starter reached base at least twice in leading Napoleon to a 15-11 win over Cincinnati Mt. Carmel in American Legion state baseball action on Tuesday afternoon at Dalton Field.
"The name of the game today was survival and we did to get us to Wednesday," said River Bandit head coach Shane Coleman.
Coming off a disappointing 4-2 loss to defending state champion Sandusky on Monday evening, the Bandits came out on fire to take a 4-0 lead after the top of the first with the help of singles by Anthony Kidston (North Central), Lucas Willitzer (Tinora) and Bower along with three Mt. Carmel errors.
"That was big for these kids," Coleman pointed out about getting the quick advantage. "They were bummed out after the loss and to get the early lead was big. It gave them more confidence."
Doubles by Sebring and Bower put Napoleon up 5-0 in the top of the third and, after Mt. Carmel countered with one on a Sage Iacovone homer, a four-spot in the fifth moved the Bandits in front 9-1 in the fifth, highlighted by a bases loaded walk to T.J. Losby (Bryan) and a two-run single by Quinn Nofziger (Pettisville).
A walk to Lucas Willitzer (Tinora) and a home run to left by Sebring increased the lead to 11-1 in the sixth.
"Yesterday (Monday) we were stressing but we were all ready to go today," said Sebring, who reached base all six plate appearances with three walks and a Mt. Carmel error in addition to the two hits. "We were not prepared (mentally) for the first game, but we were more comfortable today. We were playing Napoleon baseball," added Sebring, nearly saying his high school alma mater Defiance baseball.
But facing a potential run-rule game, Mt. Carmel didn't fold, scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth, keyed by a two-run single by J.D. Little, and added three more in the seventh to knock out Napoleon starting pitcher John Kesler (Edon), with Greg Liming driving in a pair.
"Obviously we had a chance to end it early," Coleman said. "We didn't get it done, but we were able to hang on."
A Willitzer single, a walk to Sebring and a Cody Meyer bunt hit that resulted in a Mt. Carmel throwing error made it 12-7 in the eighth and Bower followed with a two-run single for two big insurance runs.
"He did a great job for us," Coleman said of Bower, a Patrick Henry product. "He keeps lobbying to move up in the order but we're going to keep him at seven."
Bower, who capped off his day with an infield single in the ninth, never had more than three hits in a game before Tuesday.
"I saw the ball real well today," the left-handed hitter understated, not realizing he had six hits until after the game. "I thought the first one was an error. It just feels good to help the team out."
Trey Meyer (Tinora) brought home Sebring with a RBI single in the ninth before Mt. Carmel rallied for four runs in the ninth. However, Justin Hancock (Defiance) came into the game to put out the rally.
"At the point of Mark's home run we were trying to look ahead and save pitching but give them credit, they battled the whole game, too," noted Coleman, whose squad improved to 44-12 on the season.
The River Bandits now play Pickerington (36-12) at 9:30 a.m. today at Athens High School with Ethan McKenney (Tinora) expected to start for Napoleon. A victory would advance the Bandits to a 2 p.m. game at Ohio University's Bob Wren Stadium against Piqua (35-14), which was knocked out of the winners' bracket by Alliance on Tuesday morning.
Today's schedule: Portsmouth (39-16) vs. Wickliffe (26-14), 9:30 a.m. at OU; Napoleon (44-12) vs. Pickerington (36-12), 9:30 at Rannow Field; Portsmouth-Wickliffe winner vs. St. Louisville (26-8), 2 p.m. at Rannow Field; Napoleon-Pickerington winner vs. Piqua, 2 p.m. at OU; Alliance (28-4) vs. Sandusky (26-12), 7:30 p.m. in winners' bracket final at Rannow Field.
Linescore
Napoleon 401 042 031 - 15 17 1
Mt. Carmel 001 003 304 - 11 18 5
Records: Napoleon 44-12, Cincinnati Mt. Carmel 23-17.
Winning pitcher: John Kesler (7 innings, 7 runs, 12 hits, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk). Others: Eric Sims, Justin Hancock.
Losing pitcher: Michael Hain (4 innings, 6 runs, 7 hits, 2 strikeouts, 4 walks). Others: Tyler Godfrey; Billy McPartland, Cory Richards, Nate Holtzclaw.
Leading hitters: (Napoleon, 17 hits) - Quinn Nofziger 2 singles; Lucas Willitzer 2 singles, 3 runs; Mark Sebring double, home run, 3 walks, 5 runs; Cody Meyer 2 singles; Austin Bower 5 singles, double, 3 RBI; Trey Meyer 2 singles. (Mt. Carmel, 18 hits) - Andrew Gerber 3 singles; Tyler Godfrey 2 singles; Greg Liming single, double; Nathan Bromagen 2 singles, double, 3 RBI; J.D. Little double; Sage Iacovone 2 singles, home run, 3 RBI; Kory Eads double.
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