ELIDA -- The Defiance baseball team scored eight runs in the fourth inning before exploding for 11 more in the fifth frame in a 20-1 Western Buckeye League victory over Elida to remain unbeaten on the season.
Anthony Kidston improved to 3-0 on the hill for Defiance (7-0, 2-0 WBL). The righty allowed one run on two hits while striking out 11 and walking none. Taylor Cooper finished off the victory for DHS.
"Anthony has put together three very good starts to the season. He had command of all three of his pitches and the best velocity he's had so far this spring," stated Defiance mentor Tom Held. "He hit 90, and he struck out the first eight batters he faced. He's really throwing the baseball well."
The visitors scored eight runs in the top of the fourth to go in front 9-0 heading into the bottom of the frame.
A one-out single by Austin Hancock scored Shea Murray from second for the first run of the inning. After Elida got Dom Gentile to fly out for the second out of the inning, Defiance got RBIs from Joe Keween, Anthony Kidston on bases-loaded walks, before Joe Gentile drove in a pair of runs with a single to left. Rob Zeigler then added the big blow, with a three-run homer to left center to push the advantage to nine.
"It was a much closer game than the score ... it was 1-0 in the fourth inning," Held said. "Dalton Martz had settled in pretty well for them, but the at-bat of the game came from Austin Hancock. He got behind 0-2 in the count and then hit a curveball for a RBI to make it a 2-0 game. Later in the inning J-Boy (Jacob Moore) worked the count for a big walk, and then the wheels kind of fell off for them."
Defiance added 11 more runs in the fifth to close out the 20-1, five-inning win, which ran Defiance's win streak in the Western Buckeye League to 52 games. Jacob Moore, who reached base five times in the win, had a pair of singles and a double to lead DHS. Kidston finished with a single and double, Zeiger the home run and three RBI, Nic Vittorio added a double and Alex Smith tripled in the win.
The Bulldogs will now turn their attention to Bowling Green and Bryan on Saturday at Booster Field. Defiance hosts Bowling Green in the opener at 11 a.m., before finishing the day against Bryan at 4 p.m.
"We're really looking forward to Saturday," concluded Held. "Bowling Green's ace is headed to Michigan, we don't know if he'll throw, but he's obviously good. Bryan is always good and that game will go a long way in determining seeding at sectionals. We're going to find out how good we are."
Linescore
Defiance 010 8 (11) - 20 13 0
Elida 000 10 - 1 2 2
Records: Defiance 7-0 (2-0 WBL), Elida 3-5 (1-1 WBL).
Winning pitcher: Anthony Kidston (4 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 11 strikeouts, 0 walks). Other: Taylor Cooper.
Losing pitcher: Dalton Martz (3 2/3 innings, 7 runs, 4 hits, 2 strikeouts, 7 walks). Other: Dillon Schlosser.
Leading hitters: (Defiance, 13 hits) - Jacob Moore 2 singles, double; Nic Vittorio double; Anthony Kidston single, double; Robert Zeigler home run, 3 RBI; Alex Smith triple. (Elida, 2 hits) - Dalton Martz double; Mackenzie Hampshire double.