FREDERICKTOWN — Hang the banner.
The Freddies have done it again.
Fredericktown clinched a share of its fourth straight Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference title on Monday, knocking off area rival Centerburg, 7-3, in a game featuring two of the state’s top Division III teams.
“It’s been something that we’ve been talking about all season, as far as just defending that,” Fredericktown head coach Ryan Hathaway said afterwards. The Freddies have won all four KMAC baseball titles, having shared the last three with Highland (which now competes in the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference).
“It takes you showing up every single day, and I think our guys have done a good job of that, as far as showing up and being ready to play,” Hathaway continued. “And we’ve had some really tight games this last week; we won on a couple walk-offs, we won in the fifth and sixth inning, and then tonight was nothing easy. So it’s just trying to find ways to win.”
1. Fredericktown (10-0)
2. Centerburg (9-2)
3. East Knox (7-4)
4. Northmor (5-6)
5. Cardington (4-6)
6. Mount Gilead (1-8)
7. Danville (1-10)
The Freddies (13-2, 10-0 KMAC), ranked 12th in the state, came out swinging and never looked back against the eighth-ranked Trojans (14-3, 9-2).
Junior leadoff batter Brady Lester hit a home run to center field on the second pitch of his first at-bat, giving Fredericktown a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
The Trojans answered in the top of the second, when senior Reed Compton hammered a pitch down the first-base line, scoring sophomore Jesse Rings from second base and tying the game.
But the Freddies kept pounding in the bottom half of the inning. Sophomore Korbin McGowan walked and junior Xavier Mullins hammered a double to begin the half-inning, moving runners to second and third with no outs.
Then, junior Luke Bean gave Fredericktown the lead once again, hitting a chopper to the shortstop that would score McGowan from third and make it 2-1.
Junior Teegan Ruhl continued the trend moments later, hitting a grounder to the shortstop that would score Mullins from third and give Fredericktown a 3-1 lead.
Junior pitcher Kaid Carpenter helped his own cause later in the inning. With runners on first and second base and two outs, Carpenter hit a single to left field, scoring Ruhl from second.
Lester scored from third on a wild pitch two batters later, stretching the lead to 5-1 after two innings.
Carpenter settled in on the mound over the next two innings. He forced two groundouts and a pop-out in the top half of the third, then struck out two batters in the fourth, surrendering just one hit during the span.
And the offense continued to alleviate pressure in the bottom half of the third. With two outs and the bases loaded, Lester pulled a double down the right-field line, scoring Ruhl from second and Mullins from third to make it 7-1.
Centerburg cut into the lead in the top half of the fifth. A sacrifice bunt from senior Jarred Rings moved runners to second and third with one out. A wild pitch scored senior Hunter Parker from third, and a line-drive single to right field from sophomore Grayson Reynolds brought senior Dakota Baer home to make it 7-3.
The Trojans moved runners to second and third with one out, but Carpenter was able to work out of the jam. He struck senior Isaiah Reynolds out with a blistering 3-2 fastball, then forced Jesse Rings into a groundout that would end the half-inning.
Fredericktown’s offense stalled in the fifth and sixth innings, but it didn’t matter. Carpenter forced three straight fly-outs in the top half of the sixth, then closed the deal in the seventh. The junior struck out Centerburg’s first two batters, then forced Isaiah Reynolds into a groundout with two runners on-base to end the game.
Carpenter threw 117 pitches over seven innings Monday, surrendering three runs on eight hits, while striking out 12 batters and walking zero. He earned the win, while Centerburg freshman Daniel Lemaster took the loss, allowing five runs on four hits over the game’s first two innings.
Compton pitched four innings in relief for Centerburg, surrendering two runs on six hits.
Lester led Fredericktown at the plate on Monday, going 3-for-4 with three RBI, a home run and two runs scored. Mullins went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Carpenter went 2-for-4 with a RBI, while Ruhl went 2-for-3 with a RBI and two runs scored.
Fredericktown was disciplined at the plate Monday, walking three times and striking out none.
Grayson Reynolds led Centerburg offensively, going 2-for-4 with a RBI. Senior Dalton Hall also went 2-for-4 in the loss.
While Centerburg lost ground in the KMAC title race Monday, the Trojans can still clinch a share of the conference if things break their way. Centerburg will face Fredericktown at home Wednesday in their KMAC finale, and a win there would make the Trojans 10-2.
Fredericktown will play one more KMAC game after that – a makeup with Mount Gilead on May 10. The Indians and Freddies will pick up where they left off April 19: tied at 3-3 in the fourth inning.
If Mount Gilead can pull off the upset and defeat Fredericktown, the Freddies will finish 10-2 in the conference. They would then split the title with Centerburg.
But if Fredericktown wins one of its final two KMAC games – either at Centerburg on Wednesday or against Mount Gilead on May 10 – it will claim the crown outright.
“We told the guys coming in, we have to sweep them to win it. Now, we’ve gotta beat ’em and get some help,” Centerburg head coach Josh Moss said.
“Our goal is still to go out Wednesday – we’ve got a senior throwing, it’ll be his last start against our top rival, if you will. So we’re coming out Wednesday, ready to try and split the series.”
