By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
FREMONT (May 28, 2025) – An old baseball legend once said…two out RBIs will send you to heaven!
A number of Evergreen Vikings stamped a pass to the Promised Land and earned themselves a first class berth in the Division VI district finals, as Evergreen scored two-thirds of their nine runs with two out, in a 9-0 romp over second-seeded Huron in a district semifinal at Fremont.
“We executed small ball about the best we have done all year,” Viking coach Chris Owens said explaining the biggest key to the win. “We got the bunts down, we stole bases, and we got the hits when we needed them.”
Evergreen jumped on top, giving starter Nolan Hudik all the runs he would need in the top of the first.
Colton Robertson raced all the way to third on a throwing error and came home on a Layne Vance bunt for Evergreen’s first score.
Bryce Bolger walked, stole second and third, and with two down, Blake Boucher came up with the first big hit of the day, a single to left to double the Viking lead.
Huron had a chance to get back into the game in the bottom of the inning when Paul Maloney and Ben Davis each singled.
However, between those two hits, Chris Shrader speared Landon Hohler’s line drive and turned a double play.
Hudik then got a strikeout to end the inning and was pretty much in control the rest of the way, and the Vikes turned a second double play in the second.
“We are comfortable when teams put the ball in play against us,” Owens explained of his team’s solid defense. “We spend a lot of time in practice working through scenarios. When we throw strikes good things happen and Nolan did a great job tonight.”
Huron threatened in the bottom of the seventh on an infield hit and a pair of walks, but the Vikings’ sophomore righty got a strikeout and pop out to finish the game.
In between, Evergreen padded their lead nearly every inning, many using a two out base hit to score the runs.
Vance did the honors in the second with a single that plated Austin Burghardt who had walked and was sacrificed to second.
Shrader doubled to deep center leading off the third and scored on Troy Manz bunt single. Two outs later, it was Burghardt who came through with a single that scored Manz to boost the Vikings to a 5-0 lead.
Shrader’s second two-base hit of the night scored one in the fourth and Manz delivered his second of his three hits of the game to bring home Shrader ballooning the margin to 7-0 after four.
Evergreen knocked home two more in the sixth, again with two down as John Herdman and for the second time in the game, Burghardt, delivering run scoring hits.
Every Viking in the lineup had a base hit on the day as Evergreen had 13 in all.
For the second straight tournament game, Hudik threw goose eggs as he allowed just four hits. Hudik did walk four but struck out seven going the distance.
Evergreen now plays top-seed Gibsonburg in the district final, Friday in Fremont.
“Obviously we have a good opponent ahead of us in Gibsonburg,” Owens said. “We are going to enjoy this one tonight and get back to work tomorrow.”
EHS 212 202 0 – 9 13 0
HHS 000 000 0 – 0 4 1
Records: EHS 13-10, HHS 14-12
WINNING PITCHER: Hudik (7 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts)
LOSING PITCHER: Maloney (3 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts) Other: Fresch
LEADING HITTERS: (Evergreen) Shrader – 2 doubles, RBI, 2 runs; Robertson – 2 singles; Vance – single, 2 RBIs; Manz – 2 singles, 2 RBIs, 2 runs; Burghardt – 2 singles, 2 RBIs; (Huron) Cox – double, single