WBL champs!

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

It took an extra inning, but the Van Wert Cougars clinched at least a share of the Western Buckeye League baseball championship.

Keaton Brown scored from second base on an Elida error in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving the Cougars a 6-5 walk off win over the Bulldogs at Russell Fisher Field on Thursday.

It’s the school’s first WBL baseball championship since 1984. Van Wert is 18-2 (8-1 WBL). The title will be an outright championship if Bath upsets Defiance on Friday.

“These guys just played their hearts out,” head coach Charlie Witten said. “I’m just so thankful for these guys, they really give us everything they have every day. They’re a great group of kids and I’m really proud of them.”

Jalen McCracken hit a two out grounder in the eighth inning, but the throw to first was off target, allowing Brown to score the game winner.

“You never know which play is going to make a difference,” Witten said. “There were a number of plays in this game that could have gone both ways, and we just made one more play than they did today.”

In the sixth inning, with Van Wert leading 5-3, Elida tied the game with a pair of bases loaded walks. Parker Conrad was able to end the inning on strikes.

Conrad walked to start the bottom of the sixth, but an ensuing double play and strikeout ended the inning.

The Bulldogs had the potential winning run aboard with one out in the seventh, but the inning ended on a double play by Nathan Temple and Jaxson Amweg.

“That was great and it’s something we work on in practice day in and day out,” Witten said.

Van Wert loaded the bases in the seventh when McCracken doubled and Amweg and Hayden Maples were intentionally, but the Cougars were unable to capitalize, sending the game to an extra inning.

Elida had a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI single by Brayden Lybarger and on an error, but Van Wert responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Amweg scored on a bases loaded walk, then Jake Lautzenheiser tied the game on a fielder’s choice. A single by Conrad drove in Maples, then Lawson Blackmore scored on a fielder’s choice.

“We definitely started out shaky in that first inning,” Witten said. “Mentally, we kind of refocused and getting runs in the bottom of the first inning was huge for our psyche, and then we just kept battling.”

Elida trimmed the lead to 4-3 in the second when an RBI double by Jordan Davis plated Max Parker. The Cougars added a run in the fourth, when TJ Reynolds scored on a sacrifice fly by McCracken.

Blackmore pitched 5.2 innings and allowed six hits, while fanning eight and walking four. Conrad pitched one third on inning, walking two and striking out one. Hayden Maples went the remaining two innings and gave up just one hit, while walking one and recording one strikeout.

Lybarger pitched seven innings for Elida and allowed six hits, walked six and struck out five. Noah Adcock pitched the remainder of the game and struck out a pair of batters.

Van Wert will host Delphos St. John’s in a doubleheader on Friday.

Bulldogs 210 002 00 – 5
Cougars 400 100 01 – 6

Elida (ab-r-h-rbi): Noah Adcock 5-0-1-0; Jordan Davis 3-1-2-2; Luke Burger 4-1-1-1; Matt Fish 4-0-0-0; Brayden Lybarger 3-0-1-1; TJ Whipple 4-0-2-0; Nick Niebel 3-1-0-0; Max Parker 2-2-0-0; Alec Ewing 2-0-0-0; Jaden Hullinger 1-0-0-0

Pitching (ip-h-r-so-bb): Brayden Lybarger 7.0, 4-5-5-6; Noah Adcock 0.2, 0-1-2-1

Van Wert (ab-r-h-rbi): Jaxson Amweg 3-1-1-0; Jake Lautzenheiser 1-1-0-0; Hayden Maples 3-1-1-0; Nathan Temple 3-0-1-1; Lawson Blackmore 4-1-0-1; Parker Conrad 2-0-1-1; Owen Treece 1-0-0-0; TJ Reynolds 4-1-1-1; Keaton Brown 2-1-0-0; Jalen McCracken 3-0-1-1

Pitching (ip-h-r-so-bb): Lawson Blackmore 5.2, 6–8-4; Parker Conrad 0.1, 0-0-1-2; Hayden Maples 2.0, 1-0-1-1