Perkins bats deliver win over Clyde

PERKINS TWP. — It wasn't a clean game, but Perkins will take it. The Pirates fell behind Clyde by three runs before taking over late at the plate to earn a 13-6 Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division baseball win Wednesday. Both teams committed four errors and sat through a 30-minute lightning delay in the sixth inning. "Like we just told them, an ugly win is better than a pretty loss," said Perkins coach TJ Blanton after huddling with his team. "We'll take it. Our goal is 1-0 every day and we won today. That's all that matters. "We had a couple errors there, uncharacteristic of how we've been playing defensively. We clean that up and the outcome's gonna look different. We battled. We just have to eliminate those bad innings." Perkins starting pitcher Kash Koch threw four no-hit innings, but Clyde got to him for five runs in the second inning to take a 5-2 lead. Nico Carroll led off the second with an infield hit. After a dropped fly ball and a walk to Payton Hill, Mason Flewelling brought in the first run with a single. After a couple more runs scored on errors, Drake Yohe delivered a two-run double and the Fliers, who had won three of four before Wednesday, had a nice lead. Yohe added a RBI single in the sixth. Clyde's lead might have been larger, but Perkins center fielder Bryce Davie caught a fly ball off the bat of Colt Flores and gunned down Yohe, who tagged up at third and tried to score. "Kash is a fantastic pitcher and we had good at-bats against him," Clyde coach Jake Strayer said. "He battled, our guys battled. There were a lot of long at-bats. "Offensively I thought we did pretty well, defensively not so much. We didn't make the best decisions and threw the ball around a little bit. That's where we fell short." Perkins, which improved to 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the Lake, took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth inning as the southwest skies began to darken. No. 9 hitter Grant Parker started the rally with a one-out single. Bryce Davie followed up with a single before RBI singles from Braxden Marin and Talon Walton. Two more runs scored on an error and wild pitch. "One through nine, whoever we put out there we expect them to perform," Blanton said. "When the bottom of the order is hitting and turns it over for the top, it's a good thing. We don't panic; we've been down before. It's a long game. "We looked up and saw the dark sky and said 'we've gotta get this done now, just in case.' We scored four runs in that inning and Kash was able to get that last inning in." Koch had five strikeouts and answered a shaky second inning with two straight 1-2-3 innings, setting the stage for the Pirates' last three big at-bats. "They got runners and scored, so props to them. I knew there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to forget about it," Koch said. "But we did a good job of not letting that bother us and kept our bats hot. "We've been playing varsity baseball for a long time. When we're down we're not new to it and know how to respond. This year we are not getting down on ourselves and it's going good." Clyde starter Jonathan Lantz worked the first five innings. He struck out three and allowed only three hits in the first three innings before Perkins broke through. "Jon threw the ball well; he threw strikes," Strayer said. "We just gotta make plays for him." Carter Koch, Perkins' catcher, doubled in the fifth and sixth innings, scored twice and drove in a run. Walton finished with three of Perkins' 12 hits. Eight of the Pirates' starters had base hits. Braxden Martin pitched the sixth inning for the Pirates and Mason Souter closed it out with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, using only nine pitches and striking out two. "He's unorthodox and throws strikes," Blanton said. "I don't think he's given up an earned run this year. He's good to have for that one- to two-inning kind of guy. We're gonna keep utilizing him." Flewelling had two hits for Clyde, which fell to 4-6, 1-4. The Fliers are in the middle of a challenging week that has already included losses to Norwalk and Perkins and a win against Willard. The Fliers close it out with two more winning teams — Friday at Bellevue and Saturday at Ontario. "We have Norwalk, Perkins, Bellevue, Ontario this week and they're all away," Strayer said. "We kinda let it get out of hand at Clyde but I think our boys are hungry. I think they'll be ready Friday." Perkins visits Fremont Ross on Thursday before returning home Friday for a Lake Division matchup with Tiffin Columbian. Clyde 050 001 0 — 6 5 4 Perkins 220 432 x — 13 12 4 WP: Koch. LP: Lantz. 2B: (C) Yohe; (P) Binette, C. Koch 2