Balanced SMCC offense leads to win over SJCC

SANDUSKY — After Sam Lawrence tripled in the first inning, he laid down a bunt in the second inning. Lawrence did his job, advancing the runner. That helped fuel an even bigger inning for St. Mary Central Catholic. The Panthers scored six runs in the second inning en route to a 13-1 Sandusky Bay Conference River Division run-rule win over Fremont St. Joseph on Tuesday at Dorn Park. "Sam is a team player," SMCC coach Ryan Myers said. "He's going to do whatever we ask of him. Even though he laced one in the inning before, he came out and executed what we asked him to do. He moved the runner over and we were able to score on Cayden Wikel's single. We were able to stretch that inning a little bit by stringing a couple base hits together." The Panthers improved to 8-3 overall and 6-0 in the league. Lakota has an identical 8-3, 5-0 record while Division VII No. 1 Tiffin Calvert is 9-0, 6-0. Those two teams meet Wednesday at Lakota. "We've been hitting the ball really well this year," Myers said. "If we can get all facets of the game — pitching, hitting and fielding — going all at once, we're going to be a tough team to beat down the stretch." SMCC got on the board in the first inning. After Lawrence tripled, Wikel reached on an error and Cullen Dillard walked. Grant Swain was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing in a run. The Panthers missed on a bigger opportunity when SJCC (3-9, 2-4) turned a double play to end the inning. SMCC kept coming in the second inning. Leo Will reached on an error before Benny Byington blooped a single into center. After a strikeout, a double steal put both runners in scoring position. Blake Finneran followed with a two-run single to make it 3-0. He stole second and went to third on Lawrence's bunt. Wikel then roped a RBI single before Dillard tattooed a triple to right field. After Swain was hit by a pitch once again, a two-run single from Adam Burch boosted the lead to 7-0. The Panthers kept piling on in the third inning. Lawrence and Wikel tallied RBI singles before a two-run double from Dillard. In the fourth inning, pinch-hitter Graham Zimmerman roped a two-out, two-run single to make it 13-0. "We're doing a good job of carrying the momentum over," Myers said. "The guys are executing well. One of the big points of emphasis early on was to score runners when they get on base. Tonight, we only left four runners on base and three of them were in the first inning. I thought we did a really good job when guys reached second and third." That was plenty of support for Dillard on the mound. The sophomore retired the first two batters of the game before singles from Andrew Spielbenner and Zach Ohms. But, Dillard got a strikeout to avoid damage. He needed just four pitches to cruise through the second inning. In the third inning, Landon Thiessen drew a walk and stole second. Dillard got a strikeout and popup on the infield before a balk moved Thiessen to third. But, Dillard got another popup to get out of the inning. That brought an end to Dillard's day after just 37 pitches. It was SMCC's second game in as many days. The Panthers will play four games in four days and five games in six days this week. "We had our pitching rotation planned out for the week," Myers said. "We knew Cullen was going to throw today. Us being able to get out to an early lead helped us be able to facilitate our pitching situation a little bit better. Without someone like Eli Dinsmore (injured), it's been more of putting pieces of the puzzle together some nights." Freshman Griffin Torrey went the final two innings, not allowing a hit. Finneran finished with two hits, two RBI and two runs scored. He added another stolen base to further his SMCC career record for stolen bases. The four-sport athlete has been a catalyst at the top of the Panthers' lineup. "He's been doing a really good job of putting the bat on the ball and creating chaos when he gets on bases," Myers said. "You love to see a kid break a career record. I think it speaks a lot about him and who he is as a player and how much he's grown over the last four years. He's a huge part of our team and huge reason why we've been able to get off to some fast starts this season." SMCC hits the road Wednesday to take on Woodmore (8-5, 4-2) before hosting Gibsonburg (5-5, 1-4) on Thursday. The Panthers wrap up the week Saturday by traveling to Huron (7-5). If SMCC takes care of business, bigger league games await in May. "Tomorrow is going to be a big challenge," said Myers of facing Woodmore. "We're looking to carry the momentum over day after day. So far, we've been taking it one day at a time. That's the best way to approach each game. We focus on the task hand the day of and then move on to the next one." SJCC 000 01 — 1 2 5 SMCC 164 2x — 13 12 1 WP: Dillard. LP: Ohms. 2B: (SMCC) Dillard. 3B: (SMCC) Dillard, Lawrence