GLANDORF -- Defiance entered Tuesday's Western Buckeye League baseball contest on the road at Ottawa-Glandorf as the last remaining unbeaten team in the league. Rob Zeigler made sure Defiance left that way.
The junior righty fired a two-hit, shutout, while also driving in three runs in leading the Bulldogs (11-1, 3-0 WBL) to a 6-0 victory over the Titans (10-5, 2-3 WBL). The win is Defiance's 53rd straight in WBL play, a fact not lost on Zeigler (4-1 on the season) following the win.
"It's a good win because it adds to the WBL win streak," Zeigler said after striking out eight and giving up just two walks, one intentional. "Early on I didn't have great control of my curveball, but later I found my spots and that was big. I felt good and had confidence in my pitches, I got better as the game went on."
Ottawa-Glandorf mentor Nick Miller also came away impressed with Zeigler. Twice in the first three innings his Titans had a runner in scoring position, each time his team couldn't get the big hit.
"He threw the ball real nice ... he was around the plate the whole day," Miller said. "He beared down when he needed to and got out of some jams early. After that he really settled in and took care of business."
Defiance coach Tom Held was also impressed by Zeigler's performance, but at the same time Held knew his junior hurler really didn't throw his best game.
"What impressed me most about Robbie tonight was that he only threw 76 pitches, and 53 of them were strikes," said Held, whose team is ranked No. 2 in the state in Division II in the first Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association state poll. "He really pounded the strike zone. You look at the scoreboard and see he threw a two-hit, shutout, but at the same time he really didn't pitch to his potential.
"He competed, but I would really like to see him get after everyone," added the DHS mentor. He's talented enough that he can turn it on and turn it off ... at some point that might not be enough. Overall he had a great performance, I just think he's scratching the surface of what he can do."
While Zeigler kept O-G off the scoreboard, he helped his own team by driving in the first two runs of the game in the third inning.
A one-out walk to Joe Keween, followed by a single to left by Anthony Kidston, got the Bulldogs going in the frame. After Joe Gentile flew out to center for the second out, Zeigler stepped up and doubled to deep left field, just inside the fence, to plate both Keween and Kidston for the 2-0 advantage.
"That's two nights in a row that Robbie got us a big hit when we needed it," said Held of Zeigler's two-run double. "He got a big hit that got us started against Tinora, and it's good to see him start swinging it well."
O-G righty Matt Warnecke battled to keep his team in the game, but an inside fastball to Kidston in the fifth inning proved to be his undoing.
Keween once again got on for Defiance with one out in the fifth by lacing a single past Titan first baseman Jake Hashberger. Kidston, who entered the game hitting a team-leading .486, stepped up and ripped a 1-0 fastball over the fence in left for the first homer of the season. When Zeigler added his third RBI later in the inning that plated Joe Gentile, Defiance led 5-0 and was in firm control.
"Anthony is one of the best hitters in the league and Matt just left that pitch out over too much of the plate," Miller said. "Matt wanted to get the pitch more on Anthony's hands, but a good hitter like that is going to take a pitch like that out of the park, just like he did."
Said Kidston: "It was a 1-0 fastball on the inner half (of the plate), and it felt good when it left the bat. It was great to get that first one, I've been waiting a long time for that (home run) this season."
Defiance added an insurance run in the sixth, executing a suicide-squeeze bunt off the bat of Jacob Moore that scored Dom Gentile, who led off the inning with a double. That was more than enough to stay unbeaten in the WBL with a pair of big games looming on Thursday and Friday for DHS.
"Southview is playing very well and well see them on Thursday, before a really good Wapakoneta comes to town on Friday," concluded Held. "Southview is one of those games that can only make us better the rest of the season, and Wapakoneta (No. 3 in the state in D-II) comes in with nothing to lose on Friday. After losing to Bath last week, they're going to come in hungry. They're a very, very good team."
Kidston reached base four times for Defiance, once on a hit-by-pitch, once via a walk, while also hitting a single and the two-run bomb. Zeigler added a single, double and three RBI.
Defiance is back in action Thursday at home when it hosts Sylvania Southview at 5 p.m.
Linescore
Defiance 002 031 0 - 6 9 1
O-G 000 000 0 - 0 2 0
Records: Defiance 11-1 (3-0 WBL), 10-5 (2-3 WBL).
Winning pitcher: Rob Zeigler (7 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks).
Losing pitcher: Matt Warnecke (6 innings, 6 runs, 9 hits, 5 strikeouts, 3 walks). Other: Jaylen Von Sossan.
Leading hitters: (Defiance, 9 hits) - Anthony Kidston single, home run; Joe Gentile 2 sinlges; Rob Zeigerl single, double, 3 RBI; Dom Gentile double. (Ottawa-Glandorf, 2 hits).