Defiance took to the Booster Field one last time in the regular season finale on Monday at home against Wauseon, taking time to honor its seven seniors on Senior Day. The Bulldogs closed out the regular season with a bang, scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the first inning on the way to a 19-3 victory over the Indians to improve to 27-1 on the year.
What impressed DHS mentor Tom Held was how his players walked into the dugout after giving up two runs in the top of the first, rolled up their sleeves and got to work.
“Wauseon was fired up after scoring those early runs, but I really like the way our guys came into the dugout and were ready to go,” said Held about his team that is ranked No. 1 in the state in the final coach’s poll of 2012. “It didn’t phase these guys, there was no panic, and when somebody said, ‘let’s get an answer,’ they did.
“That was a big answer,” added Held about the 10 runs. “There were some walks, we had some very a-b’s (at-bats), we didn’t swing at any bad pitches and we worked the count. Robbie (Ziegler) ... he didn’t just have an inning, he had a career there.”
The “Robbie” Held referred to, is junior Rob Zeigler, who put together quite a first frame.
Zeigler, who entered the game with 37 RBI, knocked in the first run of the game with a sharp single to left that scored lead-off man Anthony Kidston. When Shea Murray deposited an Axel Bueter offering over the fence in right, the Bulldogs were suddenly ahead 4-2 with more runs on the way.
With the Bulldogs ahead 6-2 with two outs in the books, Zeigler stepped in for the second time in the first inning, this time with the bases loaded. The junior, known for his pitching prowess, crushed a no-doubt, grand slam over “The Green Monster” in straight-away center field to push the advantage to 10-2. With that one swing, Zeigler pushed his RBI total to 42 to break the school record for RBI in a season of 41 set by Andy Smith in 1992 and later tied by Cam Stykemain in 2007.
“I definitely got all of it and as I watched it go out, I remembered watching Chad (Billingsley, now a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers) hit one over it when I was a kid,” said Zeigler, who later clubbed a two-run homer to finish with seven runs batted in on the day and extend his school record to 44 RBI. “As I ran around the bases all I could do was smile, because I knew I got all of it.”
Said Held: “After 15 games Robbie had like 12 RBI, so for him to break that record ... wow. He’s been on fire, but also give credit to the guys in front of him who have been on base. Robbie is just in a zone right now, as good a zone as I’ve seen. He’s hitting the ball hard everywhere, he’s not hitting any flares for sure.”
Wauseon coach Trent Thomas knew following the game that his team wasn’t going to beat a club the caliber of Defiance when all 10 DHS batters his team walked and both hit batsmen came in to score for the Bulldogs.
“If they continue to swing the bats the way they have the last couple of weeks, they’re going to be a very, very tough out in the tournament,” said Thomas. “I know they’ve just started to take off, and when we couldn’t get anything over the plate other than a fastball, the game turned pretty quickly.
“At one point I looked up at the scoreboard and they had 14 runs and only four or five hits,” added Thomas. “We had two young guys out there throwing today and they just couldn’t find it. We’ll learn from this and hopefully it will make us better for next year.”
Leading 17-3 after three innings, Held was able to go to his bench, getting senior lefty Taylor Cooper an inning on the hill, while fellow senior Nic Vittorio came off the bench to smack a double. Winning big on Senior Day is something Cooper won’t forget.
“Today’s Senior Day was great, to have the opportunity to come out and pitch in a win like that was a lot of fun,” said Cooper, who hit 88 mph on the gun. “I’m proud of this team for the way we’ve played this year, and hopefully we can make a long tournament run. It’s hasn’t sunk in this was my last game here, I’m sure it will hit me soon.”
In addition to Zeigler and Murray, Dom Romero and Vittorio both doubled, while Austin Hancock added two singles. Cory Baird led Wauseon (16-8) with a single and double.
Defiance, now out of regular season games, will take the field on Thursday in Division II district semifinal action at Archbold against Toledo Central Catholic at 4:30 p.m.
“It was great to see Taylor come in and pitch like that, and it was great to see Nic get an opportunity and take advantage of it too,” said Held about two of the seven seniors that also include Kidston, Joe Gentile, Murray, Jacob Moore and Tyler Batt, who earned his eight win of the season on the hill. “Right now this team is a lot of fun to watch, they’re playing their best baseball of the season at the right time of the year.”
Linescore
Wauseon 2 0 1 00 - 3 5 1
Defiance (10)34 2x - 19 10 0
Records: Defiance 27-1, Wauseon 16-9.
Winning pitcher: Tyler Batt (3 innings, 3 runs, 4 hits, 2 strikeouts, 0 walks). Others: Taylor Cooper, Anthony Kidston.
Losing pitcher: Axel Bueter (1/3 innings, 8 runs, 3 hits, 0 strikeouts, 5 walks). Others: Ty Suntken, Caleb Andrews.
Leading hitters: (Wauseon, 5 hits) - Jake Trejo double; Cory Baird single, double. (Defiance, 10 hits) - Rob Zeigler single, 2 home runs, 7 RBI; Shea Murray home run, 3 RBI; Dom Romero double; Nic Vittorio double; Austin Hancock 2 singles.