WAUSEON: May 16 – The #6-seeded Rossford Bulldogs came into this night one win away from advancing to the D-II District Semifinals in Defiance. All that they needed to do was to get past the #4-seeded Wauseon Indians…on their home diamond…with a well-rested Ty Suntken taking the hill. It is from scenarios like this that facetious quips such as, “You don’t ask for much,” are born. Any wry sarcasms were quickly replaced by painful realities by the Tribe as Suntken spun a one-hitter and Axel Bueter went yard in the Indians’ 9-0 thrashing of the Bulldogs for the Sectional Championship.
Suntken reduced the Rossford bats to scrap aluminum on this evening. He allowed base runners via a single and a walk. All that Rossford got from that point forward was a snoot full of smoke as Suntken registered 14 strikeouts in the complete game effort. He helped his own cause by mercilessly pounding the strike zone.
Suntken faced 23 batters, getting a first pitch strike fifteen times and going up in the count on the first pitch 65 percent of the time. Of his 91 offerings on the night, 69 percent, 63 pitches were in the zone. Suntken had the Bulldog batters in a perpetual protect mode from the first pitch of the game.
The big hurler helped his own cause by collecting a two-base hit and scoring a run as part of the Tribe offensive effort on the evening…and quite an effort it indeed was. Bueter added a single to his big blast to plate three runs; Nate Suntken had two singles and an RBI, and Brady Rupp had an RBI base hit. Clay Tefft drove across a run, and Jacob Newlove roped a single and a double. Josh Kauffman and JJ Kauffman each added a single to the onslaught.
Mother Nature willing, the Tribe will open the D-II Districts with a semifinal game against the #1-seeded Defiance Bulldogs in Archbold on May 22.
Runs / Hits
Wauseon 9 – 10
Rossford 0 – 1