Perkins edges Sandusky for SBC Lake win

SANDUSKY — Perkins wasn't about to let another opportunity slip by. The Pirates loaded the bases in the fourth inning but scored just one run on a Sandusky mental mistake. When Perkins loaded them up again in the sixth inning with no outs, Quinten Binette took advantage. Binette roped a two-run single to give the Pirates insurance runs. It helped Perkins top Sandusky 4-1 in a key Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division contest Friday at Sports Force Parks. "We needed a guy to step up and get a big hit finally," Perkins coach TJ Blanton said. "I told him if it was there to swing and swing hard. He put a good rip on it. Once you get it out on the turf, you can get guys running around." The Pirates (5-2, 1-1 SBC Lake) didn't want to over-emphasize how important the game was against the Blue Streaks. Perkins didn't want to fall to 0-2 in the league like Sandusky (6-3, 0-2) faces now. "In the last two years, we've been in the same boat," Blanton said. "We have to go 1-0 each day at this point. We can't look ahead or worry about other teams are doing because we control our own destiny in the conference. "We have to win one day at a time and see where we fall at the end of the season." Karter Koch reached on an error to start the sixth inning before Talon Walton and Kash Koch were both hit by a pitch. Binette followed with the big two-run hit, although Kash Koch was thrown out at home trying to make it a three-run knock. "We didn't execute well early, but later we did a good job of staying in at-bats," Binette said. "We were starting to see the ball better. Coach Blanton signaled over to swing away and I know he trusts me. I got the big hit." That was more than enough help for Braxden Martin. After giving up a run to Sandusky in the first inning, he was nearly unhittable. After Deyker Inciarte gave the Blue Streaks a 1-0 lead with a run-scoring single, Martin retired the next 11 Sandusky hitters. Even when Quentavion Fisher singled in the fifth inning, the Blue Streaks were thrown out on the basepaths for the second time on the day by Kash Koch from behind the plate. Rocco D'Amico singled with one out in the sixth inning and moved to second on a grounder back to Martin. With the tying run in scoring position, Martin induced a first-pitch groundout by Dennarius Walk again back to himself to end the threat. Martin needed just four pitches to finish off Sandusky in the seventh. He threw just 12 pitches the final two innings and 84 for the game. That came after a rocky 26-pitch first inning. "I think our approaches weren't there and that's what we talked to them about," Sandusky coach Zack Moots said. "We have to be a little more selective. Getting deeper in the games, we've got to make them work. We've been doing that well. That last inning, the first two guys hit the first two pitches. "If we're going to be aggressive like that, we've got to be line driving it or hitting in a gap." The hit by Binette was by far the biggest for Perkins on the day against Sandusky's Dillon Crawford. He retired the Pirates in order the first two innings before mental blunders behind him cost Sandusky the lead. In the third, Binette singled before Kaden Kroeger was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt by Sam Schweinfurth moved the runners up. Then on a ball hit by Dylan Crabtree on the infield, the Blue Streaks weren't able to get an out as the run scored to tie the game. In the fourth, Crawford got the first two outs with ease before Walton singled, Kash Koch walked and Binette walked to load the bases. Kroeger hit a ball to third, but Koch was able to beat the ball to third base, allowing Walton to score. "That's what we're built for right now," Blanton said. "We're trying to score runs any way we can. If the hitting comes along, we can hit around. If we need to execute some plays to win a game, that's what we're going to do. "Earlier in the year in some games we didn't win, we didn't execute as well as we could. We're going to play it how they give it to us." Crawford struck out two. He was able to keep Perkins off-balance for most of the game. "His pitch count was low as well," Moots said. "In the sixth, he lost control a little bit. Two curveballs hit the guys. It's a cold day and it's hard to grip it. He was pitching and had a couple quick innings. There were a couple plays behind him we should've made." Sandusky will face the other side of the in-city rivalry Saturday as it travels to St. Mary Central Catholic (5-2) at Dorn Park. "They won the SBC the last couple years," said Moots of Perkins. "It's not written out like basketball or football, but people are picking them to win it again this year. We were able to jump out on them with Deyker's two-strike hit, but we maybe should've had another run there." Martin allowed just four hits while striking out four. Perkins is back in action Tuesday when it travels to Bellevue (3-2, 2-0) in another key league game. "In the first inning, they had good at-bats and worked the count a little bit," Blanton said. "They did some good things. We know Braxden is a bulldog in there and once he figures it out, he's zoned in. He gets comfortable and that's what he did. He's going to pitch to contact and get first-pitch outs." Sandusky 100 000 0 — 1 4 1Perkins 001 102 x — 4 5 0 WP: Martin. LP: Crawford