'Cats fall in ACME semis

COLDWATER - Minster came up with two solid efforts over the weekend in the 2019 State ACME Baseball Tournament at Veterans Field.  

After beating Van Wert 5-3 on Saturday, the Wildcats faced Archbold on Sunday for a spot in Monday's title game.

Despite a good pitching effort from Johnny Nixon, the Blue Streaks went ahead for good in the top of the sixth inning to take a 5-4 win and end the Wildcats' season.

The end of of the road for Coldwater came in the final game on Saturday night as Anthony Wayne jumped out to a big lead and defeated the Cavaliers 9-3.

The championship game between Archbold and defending champion Bryan will take place tonight at 7 p.m. Bryan defeated Anthony Wayne 10-5.
SUNDAY
Archbold 5, Minster 4

The teams got the scoring going in the first inning as the Blue Streaks tallied the first run on a sacrifice fly by Drake Morhing. Minster countered with back-to-back singles by Eric Schmidt and Jack Olberding, followed by consecutive sac flies to center by Austin Brown and Trent Roetgerman to make it 2-1.

All four of Minster's runs came via the sacrifice fly. Adam Ketner's fly out to right scored Roetgerman in the fourth to make it 3-1 and the final Wildcat run in the sixth came from a fly to center by Ketner to score Brown.

Otherwise, Archbold pitcher DJ Newman kept the Wildcats at bay, holding them to jut seven hits and two walks over seven innings.

"I thought (Newman) did well. I tip my cap to him," said Minster coach Jay Eilerman. "They just made more plays."

Nixon had a no-hitter going through the first four innings. After walking Zane Behnfeldt to start the fifth, Jaybe Burkle broke up the no-no with a single to left. After a fly out, Newman doubled home two runs to tie the game at 3-all.

In the top of the sixth, Nixon got the first two outs with a runner at second, but Behnfeldt doubled home Dawson Leichty for the go-ahead run, followed by an RBI single by Burkle. Jack Olbdering came on to get out of the sixth and pitched a scoreless top of the seventh.

Schmidt drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the seventh, but Newman got the next two batters to fly out to end the game.

"I thought we would be able to string a few hits together and pull it off," said Eilerman. "It didn't go our way today."

Eilerman was proud of how his team fought and finished with a 14-5 record.

"As the tournament went along, we got more confident in our ability," said Eilerman. "We came through the loser's bracket twice (in sectional and district), but we stuck with it and made the best of it."
SATURDAY
Minster 5, Van Wert 3

The Cougars scored a run in the top of the first, but Ethan Lehmkuhl worked out of a bases-loaded jam to keep another run from scoring, giving Minster time to go to work.

Van Wert starting pitcher Owen Treece got through the first two innings unscathed before Minster struck in the third. Jack Olberding led off with a double and scored on Austin Brown's single to tie the game. Brown stole second and went to third on an error before coming home on a wild pitch to give Minster the lead for good.

The Wildcats added their final runs in the fourth as Olberding and Brown had back-to-back RBI singles, followed by Roetgerman belting a double to score Brown to make it 5-1.

Van Wert got single runs off Lehmkuhl in the fifth and sixth innings, but Lehmkuhl allowed just six hits and three walks over six innings before turning over the ball to Olberding, who hit Treece to start the seventh before getting three straight outs - the final two on strikeouts - to end the game.

Olberding and Brown each went 3 for 4 with two RBIs. Roetgerman added two hits and an RBI.

Treece and Conrad each had two hits for Van Wert.
Anthony Wayne 9, Coldwater 3

The teams played even for the first 2 1/2 innings

The Generals scored first in the bottom of the second on Alex Gerken's sacrifice fly that scored Jacob Potkanowicz. The Cavaliers tied the game in the top of the third thanks to back-to-back-to-back singles from Noah Miller, Myles Blasingame and Jake Hemmelgarn with Hemmelgarn's hit scoring Miller.

The Generals came back with three runs in the bottom of the third. Garrett Pike broke the tie with a sacrifice fly to score Zac Szul. Later, a bad throw on a steal allowed Connor Holck to score to make it 3-1 with Zach Knapp later singling home Jacob Potkanowicz.

Anthony Wayne added three more runs off Cavalier reliever Reece Dellinger in the fourth before putting across two more in the bottom of the sixth.

"We had chances early. We left two on in the first and second and the bases loaded in the third," said Coldwater coach Tom Brunswick. "We really needed to cash in on those opportunities against a team like Anthony Wayne. We needed our best game. The effort was there, but the result was not."

Szul was solid through six innings, scattering four hits and striking out seven batters. Coldwater plated two runs in the top of the seventh on Will Broering's two-run single, but reliever Daniel Brubaker picked off a runner at first and then got a groundout to end the game.

Potkanowicz was 2 for 2 with four RBIs for Anthony Wayne. Holck also had two hits.

Blasingame, Hemmelgarn and Broering each had two hits for Coldwater, which ends its season at 16-5.

"We made strides this season," said Brunswick. "We got a late start for a good reason. We put it together pretty quickly. We're disappointed how the season ended, but they know they have to work that much harder to get where they need to."
HALL OF FAME

Before Sunday's semifinals, the ACME Baseball Congress inducted longtime St. Henry coach and ACME official John Dorner and longtime director of umpires Bob Grubaugh into the Hall of Fame for their work in ACME baseball.

The late Ed Oberlander was the recipient of the ACME Baseball Lifetime Achievement Award for his service as a longtime umpire until his passing in June. Ed's wife, Janean, and daughters, Tiffany and Krista, accepted the award in his memory.