Jacob Krausher strikes out 11 in Vermilion's win over Bellevue

BELLEVUE -- Vermilion senior right-hander Jacob Krausher threw nearly 30 pitches in the bottom of a long first inning Wednesday against Bellevue. He went on to throw a complete game. Obviously, Krausher's pitch count stabilized. He settled in after getting three outs and finished with 11 strikeouts in the Sailors' 11-2 win over the Redmen in the SBC Lake Division opener for both teams. "We played well and Jake pitched well," Vermilion coach Jeff Keck said. "He threw a lot of pitches in the first inning, but he bounced back with a couple of less-than-10 pitch innings. He gets in a groove and seems to get stronger as the games goes on." The same could be said for the Vermilion bats. Bellevue starter Adam Hosang threw four strong innings before the Sailors broke open the game with eight runs in the last two innings. "Adam was doing pretty well," Bellevue coach Andy Dennings said. "He made one bad pitch and we gave up two unearned runs. Our kids are going to be all right. It's early." Krausher, whose two-run single in the third gave the Sailors a 2-1 lead, faced only 22 batters in the final six innings. The Akron signee took the first inning in stride, which began with the base umpire calling an illegal pitch on his first offering. "I've conditioned my arm since the beginning of winter so it's used to it," he said. "I always have to get in the groove and start pumping. It worked out from there. "We wanted to show what Vermilion has. We played great all around." Bellevue took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after leadoff batter Hunter Etienne, a transfer from Vermilion, led off with a walk and later scored on an error. But the Redmen managed only one hit in the first five innings -- an Etienne pop-up bunt that fell in front of the catcher. The Redmen hurt themselves by committing 10 errors. Their poor fielding led to a 3-1 deficit before the Sailors broke it open with five unearned runs in the sixth inning. Carter Klausing had an RBI double for the Sailors and Nick Werth added an RBI single before Jack Wells drove in two runs with a single. In the seventh, following an error, Klausing hit a high fly ball down the left-field line that cleared the 301 sign and stayed fair by inches for a two-run home run. Klausing was 2 for 4 with three RBI while Wells was 2 for 5 and drove in a pair. Bellevue, which fell to 1-2, managed a run in the sixth. Brad Miller singled to left and Hosang doubled to score Miller. Krausher struck out the last two batters in the bottom of the seventh, getting the final out on an off-speed pitch. "They threw the ball well on the mound and we have to tighten things up defensively," Dennings said. "Our kids know that." The Sailors, who moved up to the Lake Division from the Bay this year, improved to 1-2 after giving up 24 runs in two non-league losses. Wednesday's game was the start of "a new season," Keck said. Bellevue is scheduled to play at Fremont Ross on Friday while Vermilion hosts Huron in a doubleheader on Saturday. ----- Vermilion 002 015 3 -- 11 8 2Bellevue 100 001 0 -- 2 3 10 WP: Jacob Krausher. LP: Adam Hosang. 2B: (V) Carter Klausing, Konnor Clark, (B) Hosang. HR: (V) Klausing