Perkins beats Bellevue 1-0, stays undefeated in Lake

PERKINS TWP. — Perkins and Bellevue have allowed a total of 21 runs this season in a combined 14 conference games, so a 1-0 final was no surprise. The Pirates pushed across a run in the bottom of the second inning and Kash Koch threw a three-hit shutout Monday to keep Perkins perfect in the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division. Koch threw 112 pitches and went the distance despite walking two in a 25-pitch first inning. "I was a little nervous there in the first inning," Perkins coach TJ Blanton said. "He was working a little high and just had to make little adjustments. A couple innings his pitch count was down, which helped. Probably one of his longer outings, but there was no way we were getting him out of the game. He wouldn't let us. That's the mentality we want." The win moved Division IV No. 12 Perkins' overall record to 10-3-1. The Pirates are 7-0 in the Lake with three to go. Bellevue dropped to 9-6, 4-3 in the Lake. The game was played on a warm, sunny day, but both teams had to deal with 35 miles per hour wind gusts blowing straight in. "The wind was really bad," said Koch, who struck out seven. "The guys made some really good catches and I don't know how." Perkins shifted into small-ball mode to score the game's only run. Sam Schweinfurth led off the Pirate second with a single and stole second. Blake Parker laid down a bunt and beat it out for a single as Schweinfurth scurried to third. Carter Koch, the Pirates' big catcher, brought in the game's only run with a push bunt past Bellevue pitcher Cooper Winke, who matched Kash Koch's three-hitter. "I thought he was gonna be safe," said Blanton of Carter Koch's bunt. "He put it where he needed to, just past the pitcher. He's a really good bunter, smart IQ player. You look at a bigger catcher, you don't think he's gonna bunt the ball, but he's one of our better bunters. "We trust him and our whole lineup if they have to lay down a bunt. We saw that today and we were successful quite a few times on it." Bellevue's best scoring opportunity came in the third. Grant Musser lined a single into left field and stole second. With two out, Reid Claus singled to left-center. Perkins center fielder Bryce Davie — playing shallow because of the wind gusts — got the ball and fired to Carter Koch to get Musser. "We got thrown out at the plate, but that's a no-brainer," Bellevue coach Andy Dennings said. "We're gonna push him and make him throw us out. Even with the depth they're playing with the wind, you gotta make them make a throw and make a tag." Kash Koch got a good view of the throw and celebrated when his younger brother made the putout. "I kinda knew Bryce would throw him out because he's done it many times before," Kash Koch said. "Carter came into the dugout and said, 'I thought that was over my head and it sailed right into me.' Yeah, that was stuff Bryce would do." Blanton liked Davie's chances of making the assist. "Our outfielders weren't playing deep to begin with and Bryce does a good job of keeping the ball low," Blanton said. "He's made four, five, six of those in the past two years. I looked at third and saw how far he was. I knew the wind was gonna help him, it was just a matter of not sailing it too high so it gets up in the jet stream." Bellevue stayed close, thanks in part to catcher Tatum Gore, who threw out three Perkins runners trying to steal third base. "They're aggressive on the bases," Dennings said. "(Gore) threw the ball really well. I thought he could've had a couple more. We're blessed to have a bunch of really good catchers with he and Drew (Dennings, injured) back there and James Gish is our other guy and does a nice job, too." Bellevue had only three baserunners in the final four innings — the final one caught stealing at second by Carter Koch to end the top of the sixth. "It was a great high school baseball game, given the conditions, but anyone would take it to get on the field right now, battling probably 35-MPH winds blowing straight in," Blanton said. "A tough day to be a hitter and a tough day to be a fielder. "We had to play a little small ball. We got some guys thrown out stealing bases. We were hoping they'd throw us a run or two, but their catcher did a great job limiting us on the bases." Bellevue visits Sandusky on Wednesday before hosting St. Paul on Thursday and Norwalk on Friday. Perkins visits Norwalk on Wednesday with a chance to clinch no worse than a tie for the Lake title. The Truckers beat Columbian on Monday to improve to 6-1 in the Lake. "I told the guys at the beginning of the year we've never gone 10-0," Blanton said. "That's our goal, but the only way to get there is to win the next one. The one is gonna be a big one. If we play our brand of baseball and get that done, it'll feel good, but we still have a lot of goals in front of us." Bellevue 000 000 0 — 0 3 2 Perkins 010 000 x — 1 3 0 WP: K. Koch. LP: Winke.