ELIDA – Twelve walks by four different Ottawa Glandorf pitchers doomed the Titans chance of playing in the district finals as they fell to Coldwater 6-1.
“Walks hurt us tonight but we were able to bounce back and not let it hurt us that bad. Our offense was put into god situations tonight to capitalize and put pressure on Coldwater but we came up empty. Our guys battled, fought, and never gave up which is what I love most about this team and these group of guys” stated Titan mentor Nick Watkins.
OG starter Carter Duling worked his way in and out of trouble through the first two innings by stranding six Cavalier runners. Unfortunately for the Titan senior he would surrender a two out walk to AJ Harlamert in the first and see him come around to score after a stolen base, passed ball, and an RBI single from Braxton Howell to fall behind 1-0.
Working against Coldwater ace Keegan Bruggeman the Titans opened the top of the fourth inning with a double from Brad Maag and a fielders choice by Jordan Metzger. Similar to how the Cavaliers accounted for their first inning marker the Titans moved on a stolen base and wild pitch to put Metzger in a position to score on a fielders choice.
Ottawa Glandorf nearly took a 2-1 lead in the frame but a ground ball that saw Maag sprint for home saw him deemed out at the plate on a tag by catcher AJ Harlamert.
Coldwater jumped back into the drivers seat on the scoreboard in their at bat in the bottom of the fourth against Duling again with two outs on a walk to Marcel Blasingame and an RBI single from MAC Player of the Year Braylen Harlamert.
Nearing the 125 pitch limit to open the fifth inning Duling gained a leadoff base runner in the form of Braxton Howell on a throwing error. After throwing a single and ultimately final pitch of the day, his 113th to Evan Harlamert the Titan pitcher departed and was replaced by Ty Buckland.
Unfortunately for Buckland his time on the mound would be short lived as he hit Harlamert who would later be brought home on one of two bases loaded walks that pushed across two runs.
Seven hitters in a row for OG through their last three at bats would see their trips to the plate conclude with a strikeout as Bruggeman worked through the blue and gold order.
Coldwater added two more in their last at bat in the bottom half of the sixth against relievers Brad Maag and Evan Pester on four walks, a single, and a sacrifice fly by Mason Welsch to run their advantage to 6-1.
Duling (3-5) tossed four innings of work and surrendered five walks alongside five strikeouts and four hits. Relievers Ty Buckland (3), Brad Maag (1) and Evan Pester (3) combined for a season high 12 walks.
Ottawa Glandorf sees their first season under Nick Watkins end at 14-13 while Coldwater (24-4) who left 13 on base will return to Elida on Saturday at 12pm and battle Wayne Trace, 4-3 winners over Eastwood in the early game.
Keegan Bruggeman improved to 7-1 on the season as he was tagged for just a single run against four hits and eight strikeouts with a single walk while tossing just 85 pitches in his third complete game of the year.
“I felt our guys had a good approach at the plate even though our hits didn’t show. Keegan Bruggeman threw a lot of strike just like we asked of him” said Coldwater first year boss Cory Klenke.
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OG | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| CW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | X | 6 | 5 | 1 |