Paulding got the jump on the Defiance on Monday afternoon at Defiance’s Booster Field, plating a run in the top of the first inning. The Bulldogs, however, struck back quickly with four runs in the bottom of the first in a 9-2 win over the Panthers.
Defiance (5-0, No. 1, Division II, Prep Baseball Report), swung the bats to the tune of 14 hits against Paulding (0-5), with five players finishing with at least two hits each. The four early runs also proved to be more than enough for senior righty Ethan Willitzer, who scattered four hits and struck out seven to earn his first win of 2013.
“I thought we had a pretty good approach at the plate, sometimes crafty pitchers like Kyle Kauser give us problems, but I thought we were very patient today,” commented Defiance head coach Tom Held. “Paulding is a much improved club, they didn’t make very many mistakes or give us any extra outs. They played well.”
In the top of the first, Javier Gonzales doubled with one out for Paulding, bringing Quentin Vance to the plate. Vance hit a grounder to short, where DHS shortstop Austin Hancock made the play and fired to first to get the out. Gonzales got a late jump for third on the play, but the throw from Bulldog first baseman Rob Zeigler across the diamond was low and skipped into foul territory, allowing Gonzales to score.
Down 1-0 after a half inning, the Bulldogs put together back-to-back-to-back singles by Hancock, Adam Schaffer and Ziegler to tie the game at 1-1. Derek Turner followed with a double to left-center, plating Schaffer and advancing Zeigler to third. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Dom Romero scored Zeigler for a 3-1 lead, before a sac bunt by Dom Gentile allowed Turner to score and give the home team the 4-1 advantage.
“We used our first-to-third offense very effectively today, we had some timely hits and overall our baserunning was very good,” said Held.
In the third, Paulding was able to scratch a run across thanks to a DHS error, and a pair of wild pitches, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Willitzer was able to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard the next three innings, while the Bulldogs scored two in the fourth on a RBI single by Drake Jimenez and a RBI single by Zeigler.
“My game is throwing the ball in the strike zone and letting the defense make plays,” said Willitzer. “It’s great knowing the guys behind will make all the plays. When I came out in the second inning with a 4-1 lead, I was able to relax and just throw my game.”
The home team added a run in the fifth on a ground-out RBI by Hancock, before closing out the scoring with two runs in the sixth on a two-run single by pinch-hitter Wade Verhoff. Derek Turner came on in relief of Willitzer in the seventh inning and closed the door on the Panthers, 9-2.
“Defiance hit the ball well today, they just put where were weren’t,” stated Paulding mentor Mike Leach. “I was really happy with our effort, we hung in there and didn’t make many mistakes when they started hitting the ball around.
“I thought Willitzer was tough, he was very effective with his off-speed stuff and he located it very well,” added Leach. “We put the ball in play, but we just couldn’t come up with that timely hit when we had runners on. We’re young, hopefully that will come.”
Turner and Joe Keween each finished with a single and double to pace Defiance, while Kauser paced Paulding with a pair of singles.
Defiance, riding a 59-game win streak in Western Buckeye League games, will open league play on Tuesday when it hosts Kenton at Booster Field at 5 p.m.
“It was big to get a game in today with the WBL schedule now here,” concluded Held. “You never know what’s going to happen with the weather, any coach in northwest Ohio will tell you that you can only plan so much, and that you just take it day-by-day. Hopefully, we can came back, get the game in tomorrow and get off to a good start in the league.”

                                                            Linescore
Paulding    101  000  0  -  2    4  1
Defiance    400  212  x  -  9  14  2
Records: Defiance 5-0, Paulding 0-5.
Winning pitcher: Ethan Willitzer (6 innings, 2 runs, 7 strikeouts, 2 walks). Other: Derek Turner.
Losing pitcher: Kyle Kauser (5 innings, 7 runs, 11 hits, 5 strikeouts, 3 walks). Other: Gerod Harder.
Leading hitters: (Paulding, 4 hits) - Javier Gonzales double; Kyle Kauser 2 singles. (Defiance, 14 hits) - Justin Hancock 2 singles; Adam Schaffer 2 singles; Rob Zeigler 2 singles; Derek Turner single, double; Joe Kew