Bellevue beats Columbian; 2-0 in SBC Lake now

TIFFIN — Ending the week on a win is the best kind of ending a team could ask for. Bellevue successfully ended its week on a win against Tiffin Columbian, 5-2, in Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division play Friday. "It was a great team win, and I have to thank my team and my coaches," Bellevue pitcher Blake Sutherland said. "Credit to those guys behind me because without them, this wouldn't have been possible." For Sutherland, this was his first varsity game as a pitcher, and did the best he could against Columbian's ace pitcher Isiah Tilse. "I think we came ready to go right out of the first pitch," Bellevue coach Andy Dennings said. "I think we were ready to go, and were ready to hit. For us to be able to hold that team at bay was pretty good. We got into a jam towards the end, but we buckled down. "Caden Lindsey came in and closed it for us so a really nice team win today." The Redmen (3-2, 2-0 SBC Lake Division) came out of the gate swinging. Drew Dennings reached on a single before Ike Brown roped a triple, putting Bellevue ahead 1-0. After a strikeout, Kaden Cramer grounded out, but Brown scored to make it 2-0. "We knew that team was going to come out and put some runs in," Columbian coach Nick Weber said. "We knew it was going to be a long game. We knew we weren't going to shut them down 0-0, but we knew that we had to keep fighting. I told the guys that there was a lot of game left." The Redmen extended the lead in the third inning. Lindsey walked before stealing second base. He also stole third and scored on an error by the Columbian catcher. "Making people chase those runs can take people out of their ball game a little bit," Dennings said. "It makes people do things that they normally wouldn't do and that's big to be able to do that against a good pitcher and a good team." The 3-0 Bellevue lead remained until the seventh inning. Cooper Winke was hit by a pitch before stealing second base. He moved up to third on a flyout and scored on a balk by Columbian reliever Connor Reese. The Tornadoes got a couple runs in the bottom of the seventh, but Lindsey finished off the win for Bellevue. "Our defense has been playing solid all year," Dennings said. "Other than the hiccup in the seventh inning." For Sutherland, it was a memorable game to begin his pitching career on. "Blake's a gamer and a quiet kid," Dennings said. "He is a young man that wants the ball. He is a bulldog when he gets the opportunity. He was excited to throw this game and he mixed it up really well this game. "I thought we kept them off balance a little bit and credit goes to him for being able to throw those pitches and I thought he did it really well." Bellevue 200 100 2 — 5 4 1Columbian 000 000 0 — 2 6 3 WP: Sutherland. LP: Tilse 2B: (TC) Tilse, Little. 3B: (B) Brown