Truckers knock Pirates out of first place

PERKINS TWP. — Norwalk hasn't scared many opponents this season. But after a six-run fourth inning to take a 9-1 lead against SBC Lake rival Perkins, the Truckers (5-10) assumed the role of Freddy Krueger. Chirps of "Nightmare on Campbell Street" could be heard from the visitor's dugout as Norwalk (3-7 Lake) went on to defeat the Pirates, 13-9. "We have high energy in the dugout that transfers to the field and at-bats," Norwalk's Ben Rothhaar said. "So I think the 'nightmare' was a big part of our win today." The first matchup this season had Norwalk spooked, as they fell 7-0 at home to the Pirates. This time, the Truckers flipped the script, trailing for one inning before taking control of the conference showdown. "We've been playing from behind all season so it was nice to get out to a lead," Truckers coach Jason Higgins said. "We scratched one out." Perkins (12-4, 7-3) stood at the top of the Lake Division with control of its league destiny to start the day. A loss didn't eliminate them from contention, but it makes the title path murkier. The Pirates travel to Columbian (6-2) on Friday. "Going into it you look at it like a trap game," Perkins coach TJ Blanton said. "We obviously did not come out ready to play. Norwalk took it to us." The Pirates were the first to strike as Landon Kim hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Braylon Collier in the bottom of the first. But from that point on, Norwalk played the role of spoiler, stringing together multiple runs in four separate innings. Isaiah Wells ripped a double to center in the second inning, bringing home Rothhaar to tie it at one apiece. The start of the game saw Norwalk's first two hitters leave the plate empty-handed. From that point on, the duo of Bray Malson and Nick Lukac went 6-for-7 with six RBIs. "I was struggling to see the ball at first," Lukac said. "Once I was able to sit and hunt fastballs everything went my way." Lukac and Malson spearheaded the fourth-inning explosion that put Norwalk up 9-1. Malson drove home Grady Naseman and Wells then advanced into scoring position off a throwing error. Lukac, who went 3-for-5 with four RBI, brought home Malson and Jordan Gede with a big hit of his own to put the Truckers up 7-1. "We've really been talking about the mental side of hitting," Higgins said. "These guys have been taking their cuts in practice just as seriously as in the game and we were finally able to string some hits together." Rothhaar, the cleanup batter, also found his groove targeting fastballs. He ripped a single to bring home Lukac for the eighth run. He ended with 2 RBIs and 2 walks. "I like to hunt fastballs," Rothhaar said. "It comes down the plate and that's what we're hunting." Rothhaar's signature moment came on defense. As he fielded a pop fly in right field, Perkins' Drew Crabtree tagged from third base. Rothhaar ripped a pinpoint laser to Gede at the plate. The throw made it in plenty of time, keeping Norwalk's comfortable 7-run advantage intact. "We practice that throw every day," Rothhaar said. "It's repetitions and it feels natural when you do it on the field." Perkins' offense continued to push a rally, inching as close as 11-8 in the sixth off a Crabtree single. The Truckers never lost focus, capitalizing on a couple more Pirate errors to score two more runs in the seventh. "Good things happen when you put the ball in play," Blanton said. "When you put the ball on the ground you've got to field it, throw it and catch it, and they did that a lot better than we did." Norwalk finished the game on a pickle play between second and third, adding one last bit of excitement before the final handshakes. As Landon Ferkel tagged out the last Pirate, the Trucker dugout flooded the field to celebrate one of their bigger wins of the season. The "Nightmare on Campbell Street" went down as a win for the visiting team. "We just flipped the switch and decided that we've got nothing to lose so we might as well just ball out," Lukac said. Norwalk 012 620 2 — 13 11 0Perkins 100 304 1 — 9 8 7 WP: Naseman LP: Zwiesler 2B: (N) Lukac, Wells. (P) Weyer