Cummings fires 1-hitter to lead Perkins

SANDUSKY — You can't have too much pitching. Perkins coach TJ Blanton was smiling after Thursday's 12-0 win at Sandusky because he has a lot of strong arms to send to the mound. Josh Cummings, a junior who threw just four varsity innings last year, threw a one-hitter and struck out nine with one walk as the Pirates improved to 2-0 in the SBC Lake Division. Cummings used just 78 pitches (56 strikes) in seven efficient innings. "We haven't had a starter with only one walk this year," Blanton said. "We know Josh can throw strikes. That's gonna be big for our staff. Everybody knows about the top three (Kash Koch, Talon Walton, Braxden Martin). We knew about Josh and we've got another one coming up here (Carson Herb, who threw a no-hitter in a JV game Wednesday) and they'll save some innings for those arms and give us some depth that I don't think we've had in years past. "It's huge to have multiple guys that can step up and just let the defense play." Cummings allowed only a two-out single in the third inning to Sandusky designated hitter DeShunte Miller-Randleman. He stole second and was stranded when Cummings recorded his fifth strikeout. "Felt pretty good. Just trusted my stuff," Cummings said. "I threw a lot of curve balls on 3-2 counts. It got a lot of people out. "I just throw a lot of strikes and let my fielders do the work behind me." Perkins left fielder Grant Parker made the defensive play of the game when he tracked down MyKell Ott's blast that nearly reached the fence in the fourth inning. Center fielders Bryce Davie (Perkins) and Elijah Murria (Sandusky) also flashed some strong leather. "I think the center fielders in that game took away a lot of hits," Blanton said. "Their center fielder definitely stole two or three hits. Kudos to that dude; he absolutely flew out there." Perkins, which scored five runs in the first inning of Wednesday's 8-2 win at Columbian, led 3-0 after its first at-bat in a game that was scheduled for Friday before being moved up a day due to the possibility of inclement weather. Davie led off with a walk before Martin singled. Walton's sacrifice fly scored Davie and Koch's sacrifice fly plated Martin. Sam Schweinfurth's RBI single drove in Blake Parker, who walked. Perkins took a 5-0 lead in the third but left the bases loaded when Sandusky junior reliever Braylon Scott came in and got a groundout and fly ball to keep the Blue Streaks (1-3, 0-2 Lake) in the game. "I'm encouraged with how Braylon Scott came in. It was a tough spot and he got out of it without giving up a run," Sandusky coach Zack Moots said. "He hasn't thrown this year other than scrimmages. To get him in there against a very good hitting team and him minimizing a lot there says a lot about him. "We were in a tough jam there and he dug us out. He had no walks (in 4 2/3 innings) and that was impressive for a guy throwing his first varsity innings." Blake Parker led off the fifth with a triple and scored on Koch's sacrifice fly. Koch drove in three runs and Blake Parker scored three times. Walton added a RBI triple in the sixth, scoring Martin. The Pirates added three runs in the seventh. Two scored on Grant Kuhnle's single up the middle. "Our hitting is getting better. We started off a little slow," Blanton said. "Pitchers usually are ahead of hitters. We go down to Tennessee (two losses during spring break) and those guys were in games 18 to 20. You've gotta have all three phases. Josh was dominant. We made some plays behind him." Cummings faced the minimum three batters in five innings. There wasn't much question about him going the distance. "Coaches asked me if I wanted to finish the game and I said 'yeah,' " Cummings said. "I wanted the complete game." Cummings' twin brother Zach struck out nine in Perkins' JV game Thursday. "He's pretty good, too," Josh said. Cummings said he put in a lot of work in the offseason. "Working bullpens, throwing a lot of pitches. I've worked on my command, especially," he said. "We've started charting pitches this year and that's helped us a lot. "We've got three seniors who have pitched a lot. I think I fit in pretty well and can help our team win a lot of games this year." Sandusky hosts St. Mary Central Catholic on Saturday before hosting Port Clinton next Tuesday. "We did better with our attitude and approach," Moots said. "We had back-to-back games against Norwalk and Perkins and it's tough to start off the Lake with that, especially after getting only two games before it. "We're still trying to feel out our lineup. We're a young team and we're trying to get those guys experience." Perkins is scheduled to play its home opener at 11 a.m. Saturday against Shelby — a team it defeated 9-1 in its first tournament game last year. The Pirates finished as the state runner-up in Division IV. Blanton wasn't sure whether Perkins would celebrate its memorable tournament run Saturday, which marks the first of six straight home games in 14 days. "We're suppose to have a sign coming, but I don't know if it's in yet," Blanton said. "They might be secretively planning that for us. Maybe that's the plan; I don't know. We're going out to win a game. That's our specialty." Perkins 311 022 3 — 12 10 1 Sandusky 000 000 0 — 0 1 6 WP: Cummings. LP: Ott. 3B: (P) B. Parker, Walton