KALIDA – Columbus Grove won a stake in the Putnam County Baseball League Championship and came close to his goal – the undisputed PCL championship, beating Kolida 6-3 on Tuesday.
But that victory came with a couple of weird detours for the Bulldogs.
They got a complete victory in the game from pitcher Shep Halker (6 strikeouts, 4 allowed shots, 0 earned runs).
They had 11 hits, including two by Taylor Schroeder, Brenton Renner, Laden Schroeder and Bo Birneser.
But they also made seven mistakes, and all three of Kalida’s runs were scored in the same weird game, which included a wild serve, two erroneous throws and no one picked up the ball when it lay on the lawn between the home stove and third base.
“We did what we always do. We’re ready to play and then we make it interesting. We do a lot of good things and then we do some things to get the head coach to relax a little bit and then close the door, ”said Columbus coach Grove Braden Sauter.
“I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I would prefer that they strain me in the process and still win, ”he said.
Asked if he had ever seen three challenges in the wild, Soter replied: “Now I have. Unfortunately, we found ourselves at the wrong end. But if these are the only series they manage to kill, I’m happy with the way we played. “
It was also something new for Kalida coach Chad Ernsberger. “None of our coaches saw it, and I asked both judges, and neither of them saw it. It was crazy, ”he said.
Halker stepped down from the top 10 strikers he faced and had only two walks.
“The whisper is amazing. Every time he’s there, he does what we need. This is done by all three of our horses (pitchers). Taylor Schroeder did it last night against Leipzig. Shep came out and did it against Khalid tonight. They both did exactly what we needed, ”Sauter said.
Columbus Grove took a 1-0 lead at the top of the third half when Laden Schroeder walked in and Taylor Schroeder drove him to double.
That lead rose to 5-0 in the fifth inning in two series of Birner’s singles, killing Luke Otto and Laden Schroeder, Taylor Schroeder’s double, which killed Birnesser, and Rainer’s singles, killing Taylor Schroeder.
Kalida’s sixth inning of three runs started with Drew Bass getting units, Justin Zibenek reaching the base due to an error, and Jaden Smith taking the step to load the base.
Halker walked away from the next two strikers, but threw a wild step with Colin Hoffman on the plate to start the sequence of three runs.
Columbus Grove added the final series in the seventh inning when Trey Soter passed, advanced to second base in the wild, stole third base and scored another Renner single.
Columbus Grove (15-4, 6-0 Putnam County League) will play his last PCL game of the season on Saturday against Fort Jennings. Miller City with just one loss in the PCL is the only team now that has a chance to win a share of the league title if the Bulldogs lose on Saturday.
Khalid (12-9, 3-3 PCL) was held in the Shah offensive one night after scoring seven runs and receiving 10 shots in nine halves of the win over Tinora.
“It was roller coaster season. We are two completely different teams. It just depends on which team appears. We went out and played very well this year, and we had such games, ”Ernsberger said.
“He struck a lot,” Ernsberger said of Halker’s work on the embankment. “If you can strike with a few steps, you can have great success in high school. It is obvious that our guys did not have time, so we should pay a lot of respect to him. “
Shep Halker of Columbus Grove opposes Khalid during a game Tuesday at Holy Name Ballpark in Khalid.
Jaden Smith of Khalid passes on to Luke Otto of Columbus Grove during Tuesday’s game at Holy Name Ballpark in Khalid.
https://www.limaohio.com/sports/508164/columbus-grove-clinches-share-of-pcl-title
