Anthony Wayne’s baseball team was knocking on the door for a big inning early in its game against Perrysburg on Wednesday.
The Generals finally broke through in the sixth to put their Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division matchup with the Yellow Jackets out of reach.
Anthony Wayne turned a 3-1 lead into a convincing victory with the help of a six-run sixth inning as the Generals won 11-2 on Wednesday at Perrysburg High School.
“I believe in my guys,” Anthony Wayne coach Ryan Donley said. “We play loose.
“We had a couple timely hits, we had some really good at bats, put some pressure on. Took advantage of a couple mistakes that they would like to have back, I’m sure. But that’s a good baseball team and our kids just came out on top today. I’m really proud of them.”
Anthony Wayne sent 12 batters to the plate in its big inning. The Generals had six hits, drew three walks, and took advantage of two Perrysburg errors.
“We just didn’t pick the ball up when we had to,” Perrysburg coach Dave Hall said. “We could have gotten out of that with one run, but we kicked the ball at second and then threw it away, and then everything just fell apart. You can’t do that against a good team.”
Bryce Anderson’s single to center, coupled with a fielding error in center field, allowed Ben Nieckarz to score to give the Generals a 4-1 lead early in the sixth inning. A throwing error three batters later on a grounder by Owen Graf allowed Anderson and Lukas Potkanowicz to score, and Max Crandell doubled home Graf to push the lead to 7-1.
Cole Biedenharn drilled an RBI single to score Crandell, and Anderson singled home Liem Eichenlaub as Anthony Wayne built an eight-run lead.
“[Keeping the rally going] is very contagious,” said Anthony Wayne left fielder Michael James, who had a single in the inning. “You don’t want to be the one that goes down; you want to keep it going. It’s fun, so you want to keep going.”
Anthony Wayne finished with 15 hits and got efficient performances on the mound. Graf earned the win after allowing one run on two hits in five innings, with six strikeouts and two walks.
“[Graf] didn’t have his best stuff today. He’s had a couple outings where he went complete games, so we had him on a little bit of a pitch count tonight,” Donley said. “He’s a helluva pitcher.
“He’s really good, and he’s just jumping levels. It’s all part of the process. He didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but I was really proud of the way he competed.”
Carter Johnson tossed the final two innings and allowed one run on four hits with four strikeouts.
Perrysburg starter Parker Faris worked out of several jams to keep the Yellow Jackets in the game early. The Generals stranded eight base runners in the first five innings.
Faris took the loss after allowing three runs on six hits in five innings. He had three strikeouts, three walks, and hit one batter.
“Parker Faris is an outstanding pitcher, and we knew coming in we would be tested,” Donley said. “Our kids did a good job using all fields, we hit the ball the other way.
“We had a middle-opposite [field] approach, and then when they tried to challenge us inside, we were ready for it. We put barrels on the baseball, and good things happen when you put it in play. I think our kids did a really good job of doing that tonight.”
James had three hits, including a two-run double in the seventh inning, to lead Anthony Wayne. Crandell had a pair of doubles; Potkanowicz doubled and singled; and Eichenlaub and Anderson had two hits apiece.
Trent Bezek’s two singles led Perrysburg, which finished with four errors to Anthony Wayne’s one. Landon Winters had an RBI single in the seventh inning for the Yellow Jackets.
Most Popular
Comments / 0