By: Joe Shouse, Sports Writer
Played at Patrick Henry High School in Hamler, Wayne Trace and Kalida hooked up in a pitcher’s duel in the Division IV District baseball tournament last Thursday. In the semi-final contest Kalida edged past the Raiders 1-0 after both starting pitchers allowed just two hits.
In the fifth inning with a scoreless game Kalida got things going at the plate with Jaden Smith being hit by a Cooper Wenzlick pitch. With Smith on first Brandon Miller would answer with a bunt that allowed Smith to advance to second and Miller occupying first. Ryan Lucke’s sacrifice bunt advanced Smith to third and Miller to second. Up next for Kalida was Luke Erhart who was intentionally walked to load the bases. Justin Siebeneck, who had struck out his two previous trips to the plate, answered the call this time with a deep fly ball to right field to bring home Smith for what turned out to be the winning run.
“It was a tightly contested game. Both pitchers brought their A-game and in the last two at bats after they took the lead, we managed to get a runner to second base but couldn’t get the hit we needed to score,” said Wayne Trace Head Coach Ryan Jerome.
For the Raiders, starting pitcher Cooper Wenzlick went the distance. The freshman struck out nine , walked two, allowed three hits but put four Kalida runners on base as a result of being hit by pitches. It was Kalida’s Smith who was hit by a pitch in the fifth frame that eventually had him scoring the winning run.
On the other side, Kalida’s Lucke’s performance was solid throughout the contest. Lucke went the distance while giving up just two hits and not walking a batter. The Raider hits came in the first inning after not again until the sixth.
“This certainly isn’t the way we wanted to close out our season but when looking over the roster we had a great mix of veterans and younger kids and we had a lot of fun working through the season that started out with some question marks. I think we have built a solid foundation and the future looks very promising. We had some really good seniors who contributed to our season and they leave some big shoes to fill,” concluded Jerome.
The Raiders close out their season at 17-8-1. The tie came as a result of the Paulding contest that went extra innings and was never resumed
