Bowling Green is headed back to the District 14 championship.
Behind an offensive powered performance, the Purples rolled to a 10-0, six-inning shutout win over Warren East on Wednesday evening in the semifinals of the District 14 Baseball Tournament at South Warren Ballpark to book a trip to Thursday’s title game and next week’s Region 4 Tournament.
“I was proud of our kids,” Bowling Green coach Matt Myers said. “The last four or five days they’ve had some really good practices. We felt good about our offense for the last couple weeks, and that’s no disrespect coming into this game with that young man (Ryan Hawks) on the mound that I think the world of. I’ve just liked how we’ve been playing offense.”
The Purples (18-10) unloaded for five runs in both the third and six innings, respectively, and built a comfortable lead that Warren East wouldn’t be able to answer. Bowling Green finished with 10 hits on the night, as six different players each entered their name in that category.
Jay Buser and Trevor Dennis each finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBI at the plate, while Jeffrey Ross went 2-for-4 himself.
Ben Ginter, who has stepped up recently with usual ace Jackson Haga injured, started on the mound for BG and tossed a three-hit shutout with three strikeouts while going the distance.
“The thing was putting a plan together pitching wise without Haga,” Myers said. “I thought Ben gave us a heckuva start.”
The Raiders started Ryan Hawks on the bump, but the Purples’ hot hitting made for an unusual tough outing for the Louisville commit. The junior threw six strikeouts but allowed 10 runs with 10 hits in 5.2 innings.
Colson Elkins, Ty Stringfield and Hawks recorded Warren East’s only hits of the contest. The Raiders finish their 2018 season with an overall record of 13-18.
“It just feels good to get into next week considering last year. We fell in the tournament in the first round,” Buser said. “We’re just glad to move on as seniors and get another week of baseball for the summer.”
After two and a half innings of scoreless baseball, Bowling Green broke through — and in a big way — in the bottom of the third.
Following back-to-back singles by Ross and Bo Morton, Eli Burwash came to the plate, made contact on a bunt attempt and reached on a throwing error. During the same error — which saw Hawks overthrow first baseman Andrew McWhorter — both Ross and courtesy runner Scottie Brown scored to give the Purples a 2-0 lead.
Shorty after building a two-run advantage, the Purples went on to cross the plate three more times before the third came to a close. A Buser RBI single made it 3-0 before he soon scored from third base on a wild pitch to boost the lead to 4-0.
“It feels great,” Ross said. “I got put in the lineup and just did the best I could. We get to come back out tomorrow and do what we did again tonight.”
Dennis followed up with an RBI single of his own to push Bowling Green’s lead to a comfortable 5-0 entering the fourth.
The Raiders had Stringfield single to centerfield in the top of the sixth, and Hawks made contact and had a ball carry into deep left, but could never scratch anything across.
Meanwhile, Bowling Green plated three more runs in the bottom half of the frame on a two-run single single from Buser and RBI triple by Will Garske to go up 8-0 and seal it.
“I mean, how could you not have energy in this game?,” asked Myers. “I thought they’ve swung the bat the last two days — it’s the best we’ve swung it all year. They felt good about the plan. The energy in the dugout was outstanding. Proud of our offense and our defense.”
Bowling Green will meet top-seeded — and host — South Warren at 6 p.m. Thursday for the District 14 title.
The Purples and Spartans in each district final from 2014-16, with Bowling Green winning two of the three affairs.
“We’re going to need the bats again,” said Buser. “We need to come out and hit with no errors again and try to limit the walks.”
