Baseball: Union City holds off late Bronson charge to take Branch County Fair win

COLDWATER — The Union City Chargers brought the big bats Tuesday night, opening a big lead over their opponents from Bronson on day two of the Branch County Fair Youth Baseball Tournament. After a tense moment mid-game the Vikings found a new energy and made things very interesting with a huge fourth inning, however the Union City defense regrouped and stopped the Viking attack, holding on to defeat Bronson by the score of 12-5.

With the win Union City improves to 1-1 in the tournament and could potentially force a tie atop the tournament standings as they face off with the unbeaten Quincy Orioles on Wednesday. With a win Quincy will claim the outright championship, while with a loss the championship could go to a tiebreaker.

Union City opened up the scoring early and scored often, putting up two runs in the first inning, three in the second, and six in the third to build a commanding 11-0 advantage.

The Charger offense attack was bolstered by a big three run home run by Drake Laird in the third inning, pushing the Union City lead to 11-0.

It was during that third inning that a collision at first base between a Union City base runner and the Bronson first baseman led to some tense moments between both teams, coaches and spectators alike. Once cooler heads prevailed it was Bronson using the momentum from the incident to finally get their bats going. Bronson put up all five of their runs in a big fourth inning thanks to key at-bats from Mikeal Sias, Conner McClellend, Graham, Rylan, and Tony.

The Union City defense settled down and got the necessary outs to put away the feisty Vikings, defeating Bronson by the score of 12-5 to improve to 1-1 in the tournament.

Logan took the win on the mound for the Chargers after making the start on the mound, with Nolan Chard pitching in relief.

Drake Laird brought the big bat for Union City, going 3 for 4 with two singles and a home run. Tucker Zweng also had a big game at the plate, going 3 for 3 with two singles, a triple and a walk.

Also adding to the Charger effort was Dyson with a single; Nolan Chard with three walks and a hit by pitch; Logan with two singles; Dayton with a single; Jax with two walks; Payton with a walk; and Weston Connell with a single.

Daniel Meija took the tough loss on the mound for Bronson, with Connor McClelland pitching in relief.

Leading the Bronson offensive effort was Mikel Sias with two walks; Conner McClelland with a single and a double; Graham with a walk; Rylan with a walk; and Tony with a single.

With the loss Bronson falls to 0-2 for the tournament and will finish things up on Wednesday with a 4:30 meeting versus Coldwater. Union City meanwhile improves to 1-1 overall and will see action against the unbeaten Quincy Orioles in the final game of the tournament Wednesday night beginning at 6:30 p.m.