MADISON TOWNSHIP — Aaron Baker’s first home run of the season was the shot heard round Richland County.
A junior designated hitter, Baker belted a grand slam during a five-run first inning and Ontario flexed its muscle with a run rule-shortened 11-1 win over Clyde in the second game of a Division II district tournament doubleheader at Madison High School.
Lexington fell to Sandusky Perkins 6-2 in the opener.
The Warriors (19-3) will play Perkins (23-4) for a district title at 2 p.m. Saturday at Madison.
With the Warriors already leading Clyde 1-0 in the first thanks to Tyler Gorbett’s RBI single, Baker came to the plate with the bases loaded and two out. He worked deep into the count before unloading on a Blake Miller fastball and depositing it over the center field fence.
“We have been having our share of trouble closing the deal,” Ontario coach Dan Gorbett said. “We left the bases loaded three times against Tiffin Columbian on Monday (in Ontario’s Northern Ohio League championship-clinching 8-0 win). It was good to jump on them early. Then we came back in the next inning and put three more runs on the board. Everyone is able to relax a little bit when you have an 8-0 lead.”
No. 9 hitter Ridge Jackson, who was responsible for Ontario’s only other two home runs this season before Baker connected in the first, had a double in the second. Paul Homan had a hit and Tyler Weber drove in a run with a hit in the second.
Jackson also had a two-run single in Ontario’s three-run fifth.
The big lead early was more than enough for Homan, Ontario’s ace. He surrendered a run in the third and scattered eight hits.
Ontario had eight hits and took advantage of four Clyde errors.
“When they won their sectional championship over Clear Fork, I think it was their first sectional title since 1992,” Gorbett said. “They were a little nervous.”
Ontario, meanwhile, is used to success. The Warriors have been to the regional tournament two of the past three years and has a pair of Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Division III state polls to their credit during that time.
“Our seniors have been to the district four times and to the regional two times,” Gorbett said. “They are 71-8 in their three-year varsity careers.”
Still, the Warriors had big shoes to fill after losing a wealth of talent off last year’s district championship team. Ontario moved to the bigger Northern Ohio League from the North Central Conference and moved up from Division III to Division II.
“The tournament experience these guys have matters,” Gorbett said. “They have played in some big games. They aren’t going to be intimidated.”
It’s a good thing, because the Warriors will likely see Perkins ace Braun Miller in Saturday’s district title game. The hard-throwing junior left-hander already is committed to Ohio State.
The good news for Ontario is Miller had to work the final two innings of Thursday’s 6-2 win over Lexington. The Minutemen put their first two men on in the sixth, chasing Pirates’ starter Luke Fraley.
“He was in the high 80s with his pitch count and it was just time,” veteran Perkins coach Ray Neill said. “The good thing for us is we’ve got a Braun Miller in the bullpen. Unfortunately, we wish we wouldn’t have had to use him so he had full energy for Saturday.”
Thursday’s opener was anything but a defensive showcase. Lexington and Perkins each committed five errors. Only two of the game’s eight combined runs were earned.
“Both teams committed some errors and we knew we couldn’t afford to do that in the district tournament against a team as good as Sandusky Perkins,” Lex coach Kevin Morrow said. “Those things are hard to overcome when you get to this level and everything is magnified.
“And they have two nice pitchers who don’t give in.”
Lexington scored an unearned run off Fraley in the top of the first. Leadoff man Joey Vore reached on a two-base error and eventually scored on another Perkins error.
The Minutemen returned the favor in the second when Kyle Lewis reached on a two base error and eventually scored on No. 7 hitter Tyler Puckrin’s RBI single. Puckrin had the big blow in the Pirates’ four-run third inning belting a three-run double to left-center.
“Both teams were a little nervous going out there and both teams left some runs out there early,” Neill said. “Tyler Puckrin’s double was huge. He’s got so many big RBI at bats for us.
“He’s a senior who has had to wait his turn. We had an all-state catcher in front of him, a four-year letterman, and ‘Puck’ just waited his turn and now its paying off for him.”
Despite losing a pair of talented pitchers in Zach Temple (who took the loss Thursday) and Brody Basilone, first-year coach Morrow likes the direction of the program.
“We’re going to lose some very good seniors,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of good young kids and hopefully winning a sectional championship will get them motivated for next year.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
