Edison finishes a perfect 10-0 in SBC Bay Division

HURON — Ten up, ten down. Edison fended off Huron 7-5 on Tuesday to finish 10-0 in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division. The Chargers have had a lot of big baseball moments in recent years, but finishing undefeated in SBC play is rare. "The last four (titles) we didn't because we can't seem to win here (in Huron)," Edison coach Sean Hoover said. "We won it last week and said we wanted to finish at 10-0 and we did." The Chargers, who are 20-1 overall and ranked No. 2 in the state in Division V, rode the arm of Abe Hermes — who struck out 11 — and had one huge inning. Edison scored six runs in the top of the fourth inning, chasing Huron starter Paul Maloney without hitting a ball that left the infield. A hit batter, an error and a bunt single by Gabe Dymond loaded the bases. An Owen Price groundout scored the first run and a fielder's choice plated the second. Another error and a Cole Leimeister infield hit made it 5-0. Then a ball finally left the infield. Davin Wendt blasted a two-run double to left-center to score Leimeister and Bryson Wittmer. Wendt's double proved to be the game-winning hit. "He can catch up to about anything," Hoover said. "He did a nice job staying on an outside pitch and drove it the other way. Those ended up being a couple really big runs. We tell the guys all the time it's never enough. Baseball's a weird game. You never know how things are gonna bounce. We needed every run we put on the board today." Wendt's double came off Dominic Fresch, who threw 3 1/3 solid innings of relief, allowing just one run and two hits. "They put a new pitcher in. I like seeing faster pitches and catching up to the fastball," Wendt said. "I got my pitch and drove it the other way." Edison's fourth was an inning built on opportunity and the type of subtle explosion you see decide tournament games. "We haven't had to bunt a lot this year. This was a game when we thought we'd have to do those little things," Hoover said. "Those little things come up big in tournament games. We got bunts down and in good spots. They had to make tough plays and we were able to move runners and put pressure on the defense. "We got some timely hits in between those bunts and move some guys around." Huron answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Maloney had a RBI single and Sam Cox followed with a two-run single. Hermes got his last two strikeouts in the fifth before Huron scored two runs without a hit in the sixth. "I think he was throwing a little harder today," Hoover said. "He was a little amped up. He did a good job of pounding the zone. They were able to get some barrels on some balls, but Abe did a good job of keeping his composure and making the next play." Leimeister came on in relief with one out in the bottom of the sixth and earned the save by getting five straight outs. The left-hander struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh. "What a job Cole did," Hoover said. "He came in with guys on base and got those three outs in the seventh inning. With Eli (Hermes) going down, we've got some pitchers who didn't throw a lot last year and haven't been in those pressure situations. It was good to see him pitch with ice in his veins and get those outs we needed." Leimeister and Dymond each had two hits for Edison, which hosts Perkins on Thursday. Edison won with starting catcher Tristian Wetherill and starting first baseman Eli Hermes nursing injuries. Hohler had two hits for Huron and Cox drove in three runs. The Tigers, who fell to 13-9 overall and 6-3 in the Bay, will host Vermilion on Saturday to determine who will finish second in the division. Edison will now look forward to the tournament with a rare regular-season accomplishment. "It means we showed up to play every day," Hoover said. "We didn't take days off; we talked a lot of about not taking pitches off. We didn't take anything for granted. We showed up and went to work in each of those 10 games. "I don't know when the last time a team went 10-0. We've had a lot of good years in a row. I'm proud of these guys because they want to be that next group to do great things." Edison 001 600 0 — 7 5 2Huron 000 302 0 — 5 6 4 WP: A. Hermes. LP: Maloney 2B: (E) Wendt; (H) Hohler