ARCHBOLD -- Several times over the years, Defiance and Sandusky Perkins found themselves on opposite sides of the bracket at Division II regional baseball action at either Galion or Tiffin, but never did they meet. The two tradition-rich programs will finally play on Saturday night in Archbold in the D-II district finals after both earned semifinal wins on Thursday.
Defiance (ranked No. 1 in the state in D-II in the OHSBCA poll), got a one-hit pitching performance from Anthony Kidston to defeat Toledo Central Catholic 2-0, while Perkins exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning in a 9-1 win over Bryan.
The finals between the two clubs will be Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Archbold's Memorial Park.
"To have the chance to play in the district finals is special, especially when you play in a tough district like this," stated Defiance mentor Tom Held, who hopes to lead DHS to its 15th district championship on Saturday. "To get past a good Central Catholic team tonight wasn't easy, and Saturday night will certainly be a challenge as well."
Long-time Perkins coach Ray Neill is looking forward to playing Defiance.
"I don't know exactly how many times we've been in same regional, but we just haven't matched up with Defiance," Neill said. "We're excited about the chance to play a program like that. I told the kids, lets come over here and try and upset the apple cart. We beat a good Bryan team, and now we have a chance to beat the No. 1 team in the state. Our kids will be honored to play in that game."
In the opener, Kidston was on the cusp of throwing his third no-hitter of the season for Defiance (28-1), but a two-out single by Nick LaPorta broke up the no-no. Despite the dominance by Kidston, now 8-0, the Fighting Irish (13-12) were one hit away from tying the game in the seventh.
With Defiance in front 2-0 entering the final inning, a one-out walk to Jim Johnston gave TCC a much-needed baserunner. Chad Kuebler followed by hitting a ball to short right field that DHS right fielder Joe Keween couldn't track down. On the play, Johnston wasn't sure if Keween was going to come up with the catch and stayed close to the bag.
Keween, picked up the ball on a hop and fired to second to force out Johnston for the second out. LaPorta followed with the only hit of the game for Central Catholic to left-center, sending Kuebler off to races. Center fielder Shea Murray's throw beat Kuebler to third base, but he got in under the tag, as LaPorta took second on the throw. With two runners in scoring position, Kidston settled back in and got Tyler Wagner to roll out to first baseman Rob Zeigler to end the game.
"Anthony's numbers speak for themselves, everyone knows he's good and today he changed speeds extremely well," said TCC coach Jeff Mielcarek. "He kept us off-balance almost the whole way, he just really dominated the game."
Said Kidston: "Even when they got two guys on in the seventh, I was still pretty confident. With the wind blowing in the way it was today, I had confidence I could get an out with my change. I just felt good today and I have to give a ton of credit to (catcher) Joe (Gentile), he worked his butt off."
Held was once again impressed with his senior ace.
"Against a very good team, AK was dominant for six innings," said Held about Kidston who finished with 12 Ks. "But give them credit, anyone who was here knows they were one hit away from tying the game. It was another great outing for Anthony and that was a really big win."
The Bulldogs scratched across the only run it needed in the bottom of the second inning.
Dom Romero led off the frame with a four-pitch walk off Jake Rudnicki, before Jacob Moore placed a perfect bunt single past Rudnicki and first baseman Sean Sullivan. A passed ball allowed both runners to move up, before Dom Gentile hit a sac fly that scored Romero for the first run.
The home team got a big insurance run off the bat of Zeigler in the bottom of the fifth when he laced a single down the left field line that scored Joe Gentile with two outs. Gentile reached on a two-out single up the middle, before swiping second base.
"He had me down 0-2 earlier in the game and he came back with a breaking ball so I was looking for a breaking ball," said Zeigler, who delivered on an 0-2 pitch. "I had hit the ball hard before that, just at people. It felt good to get that one down the line."
Gentile led Defiance with a pair of singles in the win.
In the nightcap, Bryan (19-6) had opportunities to score early against Perkins (18-9), but a double play in the first with the bases loaded and two outs kept the Bears off the scoreboard. After the Pirates scored a run in the bottom of the first, Bryan stranded two runners in the second inning without scoring a single run.
"We're not putting the ball in play, and the last three or four games we've struck out way too many times," said Bryan coach Jeff Inselmann. "We needed to find a way to put the ball in play and get those runs in early ... we needed to put pressure on their defense."
The game was a pitching duel between Bryan's Blake Kuzmaul and Perkins' Cameron Waldock, until the Pirates exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning, six of them coming with two outs.
Perkins sent 11 batters to the plate, collecting six hits, including two-run singles off the bats of Quintin Cantelli and Ryan Ebert.
"We're capable of swinging the bats like that at times, and tonight the fourth inning was our inning," Neill said.
Bryan scored it's only run in the sixth on Tanner Vollmer RBI single, but Waldock was able to close the door on the Bears and send his team to the district championship game. The lefty scattered six hits and struck out seven.
"I'm proud of our guys, it wasn't our night, we struggled, but I can't fault our effort," concluded Inselmann. "The intensity was there, we just lost to a better baseball team. They made more plays than we did and that's why they're moving on."
Bryant led Perkins with a single and double, while Waldock, Cantelli, Ebert, Kyle Lewis and Logan Worley each added a pair of singles.
Linescores
Cent. Cath. 000 000 0 - 0 1 1
Defiance 010 010 x - 2 5 1
Records: Defiance 28-1, Toledo Central Catholic 13-12.
Winning pitcher: Anthony Kidston (7 innings, 0 runs, 1 hit, 12 strikeouts, 2 walks).
Losing pitcher: Jake Rudnicki (6 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks).
Leading hitters: (Toledo Central Catholic, 1 hit). (Defiance, 5 hits) - Joe Gentile 2 singles.
Bryan 000 001 0 - 1 6 1
Perkins 100 701 x - 9 14 1
Records: Sandusky Perkins 18-9, Bryan 19-6.
Winning pitcher: Cameron Waldock (7 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 7 strikeouts, 3 walks).
Losing pitcher: Blake Kuszmaul (3 2/3 innings, 8 runs, 9 hits, 2 strikeouts, 2 walks). Others: Austin Martin, Collin Bacon.
Leading hitters: (Bryan, 6 hits). - Jordan Bostater 2 singles. (Sandusky Perkins, 14 hits) - Cameron Waldock 2 singles; Seth Bryant single, double; Quintin Cantelli 2 singles; Ryan Ebert 2 singles; Kyle Lewis 2 singles; Logan Worley 2 singles.