Cavaliers get run-rule victory

ARCHBOLD - For the second straight game, Coldwater jumped out early and never looked back as the Cavaliers kept their ACME season going with a 12-2 win over Bath in an elimination game at the state ACME tournament on Tuesday in Archbold.

The Cavaliers (20-2) now face tournament host Archbold tonight at approximately 8 p.m. in another elimination game. The Blue Streaks ended Xenia's season with a 5-3 win in Tuesday's nightcap.

After being shut out 2-0 by Xenia in their opening on Saturday, the Cavaliers have been tearing the cover off the ball at the plate, scoring eight runs on Sunday against Ottawa-Glandorf before putting up a dozen on the Wildcats (18-8) on Tuesday.

"First game we struggled to score any runs," Coldwater coach Tom Brunswick said. "When we finally scored, it seemed like the boys relaxed and put a lot more good at-bats at (the plate)."

It didn't hurt Coldwater that the Bath pitching staff struggled from the first pitch. Wildcat starter Chase Clark hit Brody Hoying on a 3-0 pitch to start the game and then walked Malave Bettinger and Kyle McKibben to load the bases. Cam Clark was called on to get out of the jam but promptly uncorked a wild pitch to score Hoying before walking Aaron Harlamert. Blake Spangler brought two runs in with a double. After Kraig Schoenherr made the first out of the inning, Derek Thobe singled in a run and then Brandon Kunk grounded to second to score Spangler.

After sending nine men to the plate in the first, the Cavaliers sent 10 in the second off Jared Davis, the third Bath pitcher of the game. McKibben and Harlamert had RBI singles, followed later by RBI walks to Kunk and Jack Hemmelgarn that made it 9-0 after two innings.

(Bath's) pitchers were struggling to throw strikes," Brunswick said, referring to Bath's pitchers issuing 10 walks among four pitchers. "Sometimes those are (the nights) where it's hard to hit. I thought they had a good approach to the plate."

The good start seemed to help Greg Gilliland. After allowing back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the first, Gilliand retired the next three batters to end the threat.

Bath was able to score as Luke Niebel's fly to center scored Andrew Renner in the second and Cam Clark's fielder's choice scored Cam Jenkins in the third. The Cavalier defense, though, came up big, turning three double plays in the game.

Coldwater answered Bath's runs with two in the third, the first of those runs coming on a Bettinger solo home run to right field.

Gilliland threw four innings of seven-hit, one walk baseball to earn the win. Jack Hemmelgarn pitched the fifth to wrap up the game.

"Getting out 5-0 was huge. When it got to 9-0, sometimes that's the hardest game to pitch," Brunswick said. "Greg kept his focus and pitched a good ballgame."

McKibben and Schoenherr each had two hits with McKibben and Bettinger scoring three times each.