Pirates clinch first league title since 2014

TIFFIN — Perkins never shied away from talking about this. Sure, there was the go-to mantra about wanting to "go 1-0 each day." But the Pirates weren't afraid to acknowledge exactly why they wanted to achieve that simpler goal — do it enough times and it adds up to a league championship. That's exactly the point the math reached on Wednesday night in Tiffin. Perkins capped off its SBC Lake Division schedule with a 6-3 win over the Tornadoes, which clinched the Pirates (15-6, 9-3) at least a share of the league crown for the first time since 2014. "We've talked about it since I came here in February (2022), a banner," Perkins coach TJ Blanton said. "We're putting a '23 on that banner, and nobody can take that away." Bellevue, at 8-3 in the league and hosting Sandusky on Friday, can join Perkins as co-champion. A Blue Streaks upset would give their crosstown rival an outright title. "Whether it's co-, shared, outright, whatever it is, it doesn't matter," Blanton said. "These kids will come back 10 years from now and see that '23 on the banner, and it doesn't matter how it happened, but that '23 will be there forever." Perkins entered Wednesday's rematch with a simple formula: score a run for Landon Kim. The first time these teams met, the senior lefty threw seven scoreless innings but the Pirates fell 1-0 in nine to Isaiah Tilse. In Kim's other five league starts entering the day, ones in which Perkins scored, he was 5-0 with a 0.76 ERA. "I think he's the player of the year in the conference," Blanton said. "He's an All-Ohio player… I knew coming in that the schedule aligned and he was gonna start the key games. I was like, 'Let's go.'" Six runs were more than enough for Kim, who struck out 14 batters. At one point, seven straight Perkins defensive outs came on Kim strikeouts. "I was throwing a lot of first-pitch fastballs to try and get ahead," Kim said. "The curveball felt really good today." Columbian (11-9, 7-4) was the only Lake team Kim didn't have a career win over in two prior outings — the loss earlier this season and in Tiffin last year — but he checked that box in dominant fashion. "That's Landon Kim. That's who he is," Columbian coach Nick Weber said. "We knew that coming in. I honestly didn't think he had his best stuff today, but he's a gamer and he battled. That's who you expect to see on the mound. He struggled a bit on the command, but he kept righting the ship and kept grinding." The Pirates put up three in the third, started by a walk from 9-hitter Talon Walton. Braylon Collier followed with a single, then Dylan Crabtree plated the pair with his own single to right. "(Crabtree) has had big hits the last two games," Blanton said. "He hit right around .500 in conference this year, a great 2-hole hitter. He'll do whatever you ask him." Kim lined a single to center, Nolan Thomas walked and John Zwiesler delivered a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead that could've been bigger if not for a great throw and catch on a flyout to centerfielder Johnny Bremyer that got the third out on a tag at the plate. "Everyone did a job today," Kim said. "We've got some of the most talented and hard-working guys in the area, and that showed." Perkins added another in the fourth without a hit. Trevor Ramsdell walked, then stole second on the first pitch he could. Collier walked, and with first-and-third and two outs, the sophomore broke early for second base. The chaos caused Tilse to balk, bringing home Ramsdell. "I think (Collier) is the best four-sport athlete in the area," Blanton said. "What he brings to us offensively, on the bases, just a smooth player. That's why we have him leading off." Five different Pirates stole bases on Wednesday, raising their season total to 76 swipes in 81 attempts. "We want to be the aggressor," Collier said. "We want to try and steal as many bases as we can." Columbian got two back in the fourth, stringing together hits with two outs from Jamison Woessner, Bremyer and Bryce Roggow. Perkins answered with one in the fifth when Thomas walked, Zwiesler singled and Lesch ripped a base hit into right to score Thomas. The Tornadoes' final run came in the bottom of the fifth after a rundown between third and home. Perkins' last tally came in the seventh on Zwiesler's second sac fly while the Pirates held their breath a bit — Kim had been hit by a pitch on his non-throwing, right arm and had to be pinch-run for. But the lefty wasn't giving up the ball and re-entered for the seventh, getting strikeouts for the first two outs after a single. "Arm went limp, kind of was dragging it down to first, but got some ice on it," Kim said. "The adrenaline kicked in. It hurts now, but it didn't hurt 10 minutes ago." Kim induced a grounder back to himself that he flipped to Thomas at first for the clinching out to start the Perkins party. The ace hopped off the field, flexing and hugging the Pirates who emerged from the dugout. They posed for pictures in front of the scoreboard, then dumped a water jug all over Blanton. The head coach returned the favor, emptying a bottle of water on Kim's head during a postgame interview. The Pirates had watched Columbian win the Lake Division on the PHS field a season ago. This time around, Perkins had the reason to celebrate and take their own fun bus ride home. "We haven't done this in a long time," Kim said. "It was the number one goal going into the year. We got it done. It felt great." Perkins 003 110 1 — 6 7 1Columbian 000 210 0 — 3 7 2 WP: Kim. LP: Tilse 2B: (TC) Bremyer