By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
PETTISVILLE (April 15, 2025) – At game’s end a North Central player jubilantly chortled, “The cold is our friend!”
On a day when a raw, 25-mph wind created a 35 degree wind chill, Anthony Kidston’s Eagles found two other friends in error-less defense and economic pitching, as the North Central took a 5-2 win over Pettisville on the first night of BBC play.
“Great to hear,” Kidston exclaimed regarding his team’s stalwart defense. “That is what we have been trying to preach to these guys. Playing defense, at bats too.’
“We have had 50-some strikeouts and only had six tonight so we are getting better there so good baseball all the way around today.”
North Central jumped out to a fast 3-0 lead for starter Kade Stewart, mostly from the Blackbirds ineptness on the defensive side.
Stewart led off with a base hit, stole second and took third on the errant throw trying to shoot him down. A one-out walk, and a defensive indifference put Eagles at second and third.
Both those runners came to roost on a throwing error on Gavin Shockley’s grounder to make it 2-0. Shockley stole second and came home when Alex St. John floated a single to center for the third Eagles run of the inning.
The Eagles added another unearned run in the third when after a pair of errors, Brody Taylor rapped an RBI single up the middle for a 4-0 margin.
Meanwhile Stewart eluded trouble in the first and second leaving Pettisville runners at third with one out.
Quinn Ripke’s lead-off single and stolen base put the Blackbird shortstop at second in the first, and he advanced to third on a sacrifice. However, Stewart got a pop up and groundout to escape unscathed.
Ryan Bishop doubled to open the second and stole third but was left stranded as Stewart struck out a pair of Blackbirds around an infield pop.
“He’s a competitor, that’s what we love about him,” Kidston said of Stewart. “Jackson Poynter, our probable number one going into the year gets injured the day before the season starts, Kade has stepped up in a phenomenal manner, he is throwing the ball really well right now.”
The Eagles added a run in the fifth, and again St. John was in the middle of the rally. A walk, then Logan Clark’s single put runners on first and third where St. John executed the safety squeeze to push the lead to 5-0.
Pettisville broke through in the sixth to make it 5-1 but again Stewart pitched out of deeper trouble.
Consecutive singles from Sam Hastings, Creighton Aeschliman and Caden Bishop plated a run with no one out before Stewart again got an infield pop out and two Ks to end the rally.
Aiden Crawford singled and scored on Hastings’ two-out double in the seventh. For the day Stewart scattered nine hits and walked just one for the victory.
Rylan Warner gave up just six hits and one earned run, but five errors led to his demise as he took the loss.
NCHS 301 010 0 – 5 6 1
PHS 000 001 1 – 2 9 5
Records: NCHS 3-3, 1-1 BBC; PHS 4-3, 0-1 BBC
WINNING PITCHER: Stewart (7 innings, 9 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts)
LOSING PITCHER: Warner (6 innings, 6 hits, 5 runs, 1 earned, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts) Other: R. Bishop
LEADING HITTERS: (Pettisville) R. Bishop – double; Ripke – 2 singles; Hastings – double, single, RBI; C. Bishop – 2 singles, RBI; (North Central) Stewart – 2 singles; Shockley – 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Clark – 2 singles; St. John – single, 2 RBIs