(March 31st, 2015) – PIONEER: With North Western Ohio Athletic League power Archbold coming to town, the North Central Eagles knew they were in for a challenge on their home field. And the Blue Streaks gave them one.
The Eagles were defeated by their Fulton County foe, 12-2.
After a scoreless opening inning by both squads, Archbold got things going in the second. The Blue Streak boys scored 3 runs to get on the board. They would add 2 more runs in the top of the fourth, as North Central scrambled to find an answer offensively. The players of Pioneer found one in the bottom of the fifth, but not before their guests tacked an additional 4 runs to their total. Putting up 2 runs of their own.
North Central scored 2 runs in the bottom of the fifth, reducing their deficit to 7 runs, thanks to a 9-2 score. The sixth inning was quiet for each team, and no runs were scored. Archbold racked up another 3 runs in the seventh, with the Eagle boys unable to mount a monumental comeback in the bottom of the inning.
Two players secured hits for the hometown boys of North Central. Senior Jordan Reeves made contact for a single. Classmate Josh Sawyer also earned a single, knocking in an RBI in the process. A third senior, Colton Pilmore, also had an RBI on the day.
Reeves also started on the mound, pitching 4 innings before being relieved. He gave up 5 earned runs on 8 hits. The senior also walked a pair of batters, while striking out 5 Blue Streaks. He was replaced by Sawyer, who held the mound for another 2 innings. For the final inning, Jordan Bailey was called upon to finish the game.
Errors were a problem for North Central. The made 6 mistakes while attempting to field, as opposed to the 1 committed by Archbold. While this wasn’t the only factor in the loss, cleaning up their defensive play could have made the contest more manageable.