DELPHOS – Delphos Jefferson held off a Kalida rally on Monday evening to defeat the visiting Wildcats 9-7 and earn their first victory of the season.
Playing in their third game of the season the host Wildcats jumped on Kalida starter Ryan Klausing in the first inning for a pair of runs to take a 2-0 advantage. Klausing, a junior for Kalida who was making his first career varsity start plunked opposing pitcher Braylon Scalf and issues a walk to Jefferson catcher Jacob Simmons in the opening frame that led to the pair of markers on a single by Colin Bailey and an error that allowed Jackson Ream to also reach base.
Jefferson starter Braylon Scalf tossed a solid five innings of work for the hosts but was hit hard in the second inning by the duo of Justin Siebeneck and Ayden Warnecke who reached on balls misplayed by the middle infield.
Looking to help out his own cause Ryan Klausing laid down a sacrifice bunt that moved both runners into scoring position before Siebeneck eventually scored to cut the lead to 2-1.
Trailing 3-1 in their third at bat after a Tanner Vorhees score by Jefferson in the top of the frame the maroon and gold found themselves in a position to tie or take the lead with runners at the corners but were unsuccessful as Scalf induced a 6-4-3 inning ending double play from Siebeneck to keep his squad on top.
Leading off the bottom of the fourth and now facing reliever Carson Klausing the Jefferson bats pushed across three runs to take a 6-1 advantage on a pair of singles, a fielders choice, and a walk before a 2-RBI single from Jackson Ream before the at bat came to an end.
While their previous turn at the dish ended with a 1-2-3 inning at the hands of Scalf, Kalida turned a pair of defensive miscues in the top of the fifth inning into a trio of runs thanks to a double by Ryan Lucke and a 2-RBI slash from senior Luke Erhart to get within 6-4 on the scoreboard.
Delphos Jefferson head coach Doug Geary’s decision to pull starter Braylon Scalf in favor of reliever Tanner Vorhees turned fruitful early for the Kalida offense to the tune of a run on a trio of walks and an RBI single by Lucke to trim the lead to 6-5 before a pitching change to Colin Bailey slammed the door on the visitors rally on a bases loaded lineout by Erhart and a pop fly on the back of the infield by Collin Hoffman.
“Braylon Scalf gave us five solid innings. We were far from perfect behind him and we know we left a lot of plays out there defensively but today was a step in the right direction” said Geary.
Eight Jefferson hitters made appearances at the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning with two drawing walks while Vorhees was hit by a pitch as runs were driven in by the duo of Cody Bailey and Eli Kill to provide three runs of insurance heading into the final Kalida at bat.
A leadoff walk to Justin Siebeneck and an error on an ball struck by Ayden Warnecke put a pair of runners on base for Kalida as they opened their final at bat trailing 9-5 in the bottom of the sixth.
Pinch hitter EJ Miller drew a four pitch walk as did teammate Jaden Smith as the Wildcats pushed across a pair of runs to get within 9-7 but saw the contest come to an end as Jefferson catcher Jacob Simmons curtailed a passed ball and tagged out Miller who attempted to make a late break for home plate and a run to end the game.
“Adding the three runs in the sixth was crucial to getting a win over a quality team like Kalida” said Geary on his teams late scores.
The game not only marked the season opener and first spring contest in 667 days for Kalida, it marked the first for head coach Chad Ehrnsberger who himself starred at Kalida before a collegiate and professional career.
Delphos Jefferson (1-2) will travel to Riverdale on Tuesday for a non-league tilt while Kalida (0-1) travels to Pandora to battle conference foe Pandora Gilboa also on Tuesday.
WP: Scalf (1-0) – 5IP, 6H, 4R, 4K, 1BB
LP: R. Klausing (0-1) – 3IP, 3R, 3H, 3BB, 1HBP