Perkins finishes alone at top of Lake Division

PERKINS TWP. — Perkins had a goal of a Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division championship when the baseball season started. The Pirates had a chance to clinch it last week, but came up short against Clyde. Division IV No. 12 Perkins wasn't about to let that happen again. The Pirates grinded out runs early then put the game away in the fifth inning, topping Tiffin Columbian 8-2 on Tuesday. "It's a good group of seniors with a lot of experience," Perkins coach TJ Blanton said. "They've played a lot of baseball together from the team they were little to now that they've grown. One of our goals this year was to win a SBC title. We wanted to win an outright title and we accomplished that tonight." Perkins improved to 13-4-1 overall and finished 9-1 in league play. The Pirates have won four straight conference championships. "It's special. There's been two other classes at Perkins to win four conference titles," Blanton said. "When these guys came in, we looked up at the banner and said we needed to start adding numbers to that. Four straight is something special in any sport, especially baseball. I'm happy for them and excited for the team." Perkins faced Columbian starter Blake Gaulden for the second time this year. In the first meeting, the Pirates jumped out to an 8-0 lead after two innings, chasing Gaulden from the game. It was a little tougher for Perkins this time around. Carter Koch doubled and Kash Koch walked in the first inning, but the Tornadoes (5-12, 1-6) got out of the inning with a flyout. The Pirates loaded the bases in the second, but got just one run on a Talon Walton sacrifice fly. In the third inning, a run-scoring single from Blake Parker made it 2-0. "They've played tough games," said Blanton of the Tornadoes. "Tiffin has been in a lot of close games. Their record might not show it. They're a young team and they're well-coached. They do the small stuff right. They've gotten better as the year has gone on. (Gaulden) pitched better than he did the first time." Perkins got things going a bit more in the fourth inning. Grant Parker doubled before Walton's RBI double made it 3-0. He came around to score on Kash Koch's single. In the fifth inning, Blake Parker and Braxden Martin each walked before Dante Shipp's RBI single. Walton roped a two-run single to end Gaulden's day on the mound. Kash Koch added another RBI single as Perkins went up 8-1 after five innings. "When we get guys on base, we need to score the runs," Blanton said. "We did a good job of that today. We added on in every inning and that's the goal. If you can get a couple innings in a row of scoring and put up zeroes, you're going to have the lead." Kash Koch was tough on the mound for Perkins. After throwing four scoreless innings in the Pirates' win at Columbian on April 8, he was just as tough Tuesday. Columbian didn't get a hit until the fourth inning, but Koch got a big strikeout to get out of the inning. The Tornadoes did score a run in the fifth, but again, Koch tallied a strikeout looking to limit the damage. "Kash battled," said Blanton of the senior. "He didn't have his best stuff today, but it was good enough to win a game. He's obviously the best pitcher in the SBC. Him and Talon are 1 and 2, no doubt. Both of them can win on any night. We trust them. Now it's time to limit them and get them ready for tournament run." Perkins is back in action Wednesday when it hosts Division III No. 7 University School (17-4), a game put together earlier Tuesday. The Pirates host Division V No. 9 Edison on Thursday, travel to Oak Harbor on Friday and host Division I Lakewood St. Edward on Saturday. Next week, Perkins faces Division II Sylvania Northview and Division II No. 7 Oregon Clay. "Our next eight days are a gauntlet," Blanton said. "Northview was a Division I state champion in 2022. Clay is ranked in the top 10 in Division II. We have like five ranked teams coming here in the next eight days. "That's going to be a good test. We're going to see good pitching and that's what we want. We want to hit the ball against some good pitching." Columbian 000 010 1 — 2 3 4 Perkins 011 240 x — 8 13 1 WP: K. Koch. LP: Gaulden. 2B: (P) C. Koch, G. Parker, Walton