Fast start leads Perkins past Columbian

TIFFIN — Perkins got off to an explosive start. Bryce Davie and Braxden Martin each scored after walking for the Pirates. With two outs, Quentin Binette got a hit and that allowed Talon Walton to score. Later, Sam Schweinfurth and Carter Koch both got a RBI as Parker and Schweinfurth came across home plate. Perkins won its Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division opener against Tiffin Columbian, 8-2, on Wednesday at Tornado Field. "We had a hot start and I just told the kids that they got complacent with their at-bats and they were not taking Tiffin Columbian seriously because they saw the score on the scoreboard," Pirates coach TJ Blanton said. "It's something that you can't do in a game of baseball." The Pirates (1-2, 1-0 SBC lake) added three more runs in the second inning, but the bats cooled after that as Columbian (1-4, 0-1) brought in Kason Daily to pitch for the remainder of the game. "They brought the second kid in," Blanton said. "He threw strikes and he completely shut us down so he had a great pitching performance for Columbian and that got them through." Daily had three strikeouts, but gave up no runs on three hits and kept Perkins scoreless for the remainder of the game. "Kason is a kid that works extremely hard," Tornadoes coach Nick Weber said. "He does everything, even the small things you ask him to. He is the first one to go pick up the foul balls. He the first one to pick up the score book. He does everything." Perkins went through three pitchers in Kash Koch, Grant Kuhnle, and Mason Souter. "Kash did well on the mound and he threw well in the beginning," Blanton said. "His pitch count started getting up there and this early in the season, we don't want to throw him too much. We tried a couple new pitchers and tried to save some arms there. They got to start some innings so that was good." Koch had seven strikeouts and gave up one run on two hits, while Kuhnle had one strikeout and one run on four hits. Last season, the two teams split their two league meetings. Columbian won at Perkins early in the season before the Pirates won in Tiffin en route to the league championship. "Overall, I'm pleased we went 1–0. Last year we went 0-1 in the conference and Columbian beat us. It's better to be on the other side of that," Blanton said. This is the third game of the year for the Pirates. Last week over spring break, Perkins traveled to Tennessee and played Wilson Central and lost 6-0. The Pirates then lost to South Warren 6-3. The level of competition they faced in Tennessee is what helps them prepare for the postseason. "That's why we go to Tennessee to play some big schools," Blanton said. "We play the big boys that are halfway through the season and are in mid-season form. We got to see some stuff down there from Division I teams that are good. We want to play the best to help us be prepared come May and June." There is no rest for the Pirates as they face another conference foe Friday when they face crosstown rival Sandusky. "We will enjoy our win today," Blanton said. "Any team in the conference can win on any night. We are going in 1-0 and it will be good if we can get it 2-0. It's how we say it, 0-2 in Tennessee and we are 1-0 in Ohio." Perkins 530 000 0 — 8 12 1 Columbian 000 110 0 — 2 6 2 WP: Koch (1-1). LP: Gaulden. 2B: (P) Davie