The numbers continue to astonish.
Defiance captured its sixth straight outright Western Buckeye League baseball championship on Monday, its 21st in school history, all the while adding to its now 58-game win streak in league play after pulling away from Lima Bath at Booster Field, 8-1.
Tyler Batt scattered six hits, the DHS defense made all the plays, and the top of the Bulldog order accounted for seven of the team's nine hits. In all, it adds up to Defiance (22-1, 8-0 WBL, No. 1 in the state in Division II) clinching the crown with one league game left to finish off on Friday at home against Wapakoneta.
"It was nice to clinch the title today, the seniors really deserve it, they've had a great season," stated Defiance mentor Tom Held, who is now 116-9 all-time in WBL contests and 347-56 at DHS. "I think the league was pretty good this year, and I think we played some of our best baseball in our league games."
For Batt, who surrendered his first earned run of the season in improving to 7-0, it was his first taste of pitching in the WBL. It was just another game according to the senior.
"I didn't think about it (winning the WBL) at all, I just went out there to pitch," said Batt. "It feels great to be able to pitch in the game that won us the outright league title, and a lot of the credit goes to my defense behind me and to the guys for scoring a lot of runs."
It was a defensive play in the first inning by DHS senior shortstop that kept Bath off the scoreboard and gave the momentum to the home team.
Caleb Norton and Collin Gossard both reached for Bath (17-8, 4-5 WBL) on singles in the first inning, giving the Wildcats runners at the corners with one out. Matt Wise followed with a grounder in the hole toward short, but Defiance senior shortstop Jacob Moore scooped and fired home to senior catcher Joe Gentile who took the throw and tagged out Norton who was running on contact. Batt then got Myles Holliday to pop out to second to end the threat.
"It was a situation where we were going to be aggressive, and to be honest I didn't anticipate him (Moore) throwing home," commented Bath coach Brian Jesko. "The kid made a great play and that in a nutshell tells the story of why they've won 58 games in a row in the league and why they're the No. 1 team in the state in Division II.
"Not only do they have great pitching, their defense is absolutely outstanding too," added Jesko. "If we score a run right there, it could have opened the door for us, but they made that play, After that, Batt settled down and did what he had to do."
Held certainly thought it was a big moment in a season of big moments.
"It might have been the biggest play of the year because it came at a clutch time in a big game," Held said. "A lot of guys won't try to make that play, but J-Boy (Moore) is a such a smart player and a very good player. Joe Gentile made a great play as well, the throw was a one-hopper, he secured the ball and made a good tag ... a big momentum play."
According to Moore, it was just a play where he was going on instinct.
"I was playing medium depth, I was able to back-hand the ball and I knew right away I was going home with it," said Moore. "It was a two-hopper to me, then Joe made a heck of a play to handle the throw and make the tag. It was a great play by him."
A RBI single by Rob Zeigler in the bottom of the first off Norton scored Anthony Kidston for Defiance's first run, before the Bulldogs added a pair in the third on a RBI singles by Gentile and Shea Murray to take a 3-0 advantage. Bath clawed back for its lone run in the top the fifth, but the Bulldogs pulled away with four in the bottom of the frame.
A lead-off double by Kidston, a RBI double by Gentile, another RBI single by Murray, a Bath error that led to a run and a RBI single by Joe Keween put the hosts up, 7-1.
"I spent a lot of time in the cage lately working on my swing and today the ball just looked fat," said Gentile, who finished 3-for-3 with a pair of singles, a double and two RBI. "I'm glad I could do my part for the team and it feels great to help bring another WBL title to Defiance."
Kidston, who was on base four times and scored three times, was also happy to be a part of another WBL crown.
"Tyler threw the ball well, we played good defense, everybody swung the bats well ... I think this may have been one of our most complete games of the year," said Kidston. "It feels good to win the league, and I hope we can continue to play like this come tournament time."
A busy week for Defiance continues on Tuesday when it hits the road to take on Archbold at 6 p.m., before returning to Booster Field for a Division II sectional title rematch against Napoleon on Wednesday at 5 p.m. On Thursday, the Bulldogs will play at Fifth Third Field in Toledo against Toledo Start at 4:30 p.m. before returning home Friday to finish off the suspended WBL game against Wapak at 5 p.m.
"Tyler did what he's done all season, he pounded the strike zone and made big pitches, I thought our defense played really well today and we got every big hit," concluded Held. "I'm very proud of the way this team performed against a very good Bath team and again, I'm proud of the seniors for leading us to another WBL title."
Linescore
Lima Bath 000 010 0 - 1 6 2
Defiance 102 041 x - 8 9 0
Records: Defiance 22-1 (8-0 WBL), Lima Bath 17-8 (4-5 WBL).
Winning pitcher: Tyler Batt (6 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 2 strikeouts, 0 walks). Other: Anthony Kidston.
Losing pitcher: Caleb Norton (4 innings, 5 runs, 6 hits, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk). Others: Brad Davis, Collin Gossard.
Leading hitters: (Lima Bath, 6 hits) - Matt Wise double; Nate Heffner 2 singles. (Defiance, 9 hits) - Anthony Kidston double; Joe Gentile 2 singles, double; Shea Murray 2 singles.