Huron shuts out Vermilion behind Cox's 13 strikeouts

VERMILION — Huron's Sam Cox is turning into the kind of pitcher who can make a difference in the postseason. Cox struck out 13 and walked only two batters to lead the Tigers to an 8-0 SBC Bay Division baseball win against Vermilion on Monday. "I felt good," Cox said. "I think my arm's in pretty good conditioning right now. I want to keep throwing and keep winning. This should give us momentum for the rest of the week and into the tournament." Cox, a junior, scattered four hits and recorded three strikeouts in the fifth and seventh innings. All three strikeouts in the final frame were on called third strikes. The win raised Huron's record to 13-8 overall and 6-2 in the Bay. The Tigers host division champion Edison on Tuesday. "It was a nice win at a time when we needed one," Huron coach Dan Lindsley said. "Credit their pitcher (Mason Cooper), and I thought Sammy Cox was phenomenal tonight. "We kinda wanted to take him out in that last inning with the score where it was, but he wouldn't come out. The kid loves to pitch and doesn't get to a lot because he's a good infielder. With Landon (Hohler) down, it's probably an opportunity for him to pitch quite a bit for us." About the only thing Cox did wrong was fire one into the dirt in the seventh inning. Catcher Ben Davis tried to backhand the pitch and caught one in the throat. He had to exit the game but felt fine afterward. "I took the wrong pitch to the throat," Davis said. "I tried to backhand it and it spun and hit me. I felt a little dizzy and had to come out, but I'm feeling pretty good now." Davis liked what he saw from Cox, who has played a major role in the Tigers' two shutout wins this season. Cox threw five no-hit innings a couple weeks ago in a 10-0 win against Port Clinton. "Every time he gets on that mound, he has confidence," Davis said. "I'm glad to say I'm his catcher. It's a honor to catch him and all the other pitchers." Huron led just 1-0 after five innings. Davis smoked a line-drive single up the middle to lead off the second and scored on a wild pitch. "It came off the bat pretty fast," Davis said. "I feel like I'm seeing the ball better." Davis is 7 for 14 in his last five games, including a grand slam in a win against Perkins last Thursday. Cox, who struck out three in one inning to get the save against Perkins, found himself in a pitchers' duel with Cooper on Monday. Cooper, a sophomore, had seven strikeouts through five innings before walks sank the Sailors. Huron scored four runs off one hit — a Hohler double — in the sixth and added three in the seventh. The Sailors — who ended up using three pitchers — walked a total of nine Tigers and hit one in the last two innings. "It was great game for five innings," Vermilion coach Jeff Keck said. "The last two innings were a nightmare. We couldn't throw strikes, we were sloppy on defense. We didn't do anything on offense the whole game. "Their pitcher did a nice job. He has some good stuff today and good command." The Sailors, who had their five-game winning streak snapped, fell to 12-6, 6-3. They travel to Huron on Saturday in the Bay Division finale. "Cooper's a good pitcher," Lindsley said. "We were just able to elevate his pitch count and get a couple hits and the walks came. At this time of year you have to take advantage of anything you can get." Huron will attempt to spoil the Chargers' bid to finish 10-0 in the Bay on Tuesday. "Always fun. It's been a number of years since one team has swept the other, so we want to keep that streak intact," Lindsley said. "That was the conversation after the game — hey, go get it. Maybe you're not going to win the conference, but bragging rights are still bragging rights." Huron also is switching into tournament mode. The Tigers earned a No. 2 seed in their Division VI district. "We're just trying to get ready for the tournament and these are the type of games that will get us ready," Cox said. "We just want to compete, put up a lot of runs and play clean defense." Davis, who reached base three times and scored three runs, had a postgame message for his teammates before they boarded the bus. "We just need to stick together," he said. "Last year, we kinda had the same thing going on where we struggled a little bit during the regular season but we showed up as a family for the playoffs and made a deep run. I'm hoping that's what it's gonna be like this year." Huron 010 004 3 — 8 6 0Vermilion 000 000 0 — 0 4 2 WP: Cox; LP: Cooper 2B: (H) Hohler