Tyler Batt threw a three-hit shutout and Defiance scored all the runs it needed in the first inning in a 3-0 victory over Sylvania Southview on Thursday at Defiance's Booster Field.
Batt, a senior, improved to a perfect 3-0 in the hill for Defiance (12-1, ranked No. 2 in the state in Division II in the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association poll) while keeping his ERA a spotless 0.00.
"That was a quality 'W' for Tyler today for sure," stated Defiance mentor Tom Held. "What was impressive was that he only threw 68 pitches ... he just pounded the strike zone. Tyler makes guys put the ball in play and tonight we made plays behind him. He's beaten some quality teams in Bowling Green, Eastwood and now Southview and hasn't given up any earned runs.
"I thought our defense, especially up the middle was very good today as well," added Held. "Joe Gentile did a great job behind the plate, Jacob Moore (shortstop) and Austin Hancock (second base) made plays and Anthony Kidston in center also played well out there."
While Batt was keeping the Cougars (8-4) off the scoreboard, the Bulldogs got all the scoring they needed in the bottom of the first inning with a pair of runs.
Jacob Moore doubled to lead off the frame for DHS, before he moved to third base on a wild pitch. Joe Keween then hit a bloop single to left, but Moore was unable to score on the play. After Keween advanced to second, Anthony Kidston hit a hard grounder to third that was misplayed for an error, allowing Moore to score.
When Joe Gentile walked, the Bulldogs had the bases loaded with nobody out. Following a foul out, Shea Murray walked to force in Keween with the second run, but Southview was able to get out of the inning without anymore damage.
"Their starter Barker really struggled with control in the first inning and we were able to scratch across a couple of runs against him, but I give him credit for settling down and battling back," Held said. "It wasn't like some of our games where we break it open with a big inning, we didn't get the big hit and Barker kept his team in the ballgame."
Defiance returns to action tonight at home at Booster Field at 5 p.m. against Wapakoneta (No. 3 in D-II in the OHSBCA poll) in an important WBL contest. The Bulldogs carry a 53-game win streak in the league into the game.
"It was good to see a quality pitcher tonight like Barker, that's only going to help us when we face Wapakoneta," concluded Held. "Barker is very similar to Wapakoneta's Chance Culver, who we should see. They both throw around 82-85 and both have very good breaking balls. When you play out of your league, you want to see good pitching and tonight's game can only help us moving forward."