COLDWATER – Coldwater sophomore Luke Sudhoff tossed a five inning no-hitter as the Cavs raced past Marion Local 11-1 in Midwest Athletic Conference play Tuesday evening.
Making his fourth start of the season Sudhoff allowed just a pair of baserunners through the first three innings to reach base. Dylan Fleck who produced the only hit of the day on Monday night for the Flyers in a loss to Wapak procured a four pitch walk in his first appearance at the plate but was erased on a fielders choice by teammate Gabe Link before the inning came to a stop.
Cavalier seniors Zack McKibben and Myles Blasingame reached in the bottom of the frame on a single and a Marion Local error before being driven in on a double by Reece Dellinger to take a 2-0 lead. Dellinger himself would later be driven in on a single by Blake Siefring to give the home squad a 3-0 lead.
After the first of of back to back 1-2-3 innings from Sudhoff on the mound the Cavaliers offense added a run to their total in the second through singles by Josh Kaup and Brady Klingshirn as well as a walk and a hit by pitch of McKibben and Alex Knapke,
Marion Local pitcher Gabe Link plunked a pair of Coldwater hitters in the third inning and fell behind 6-0 after a double by Knapke brought home a pair of runs in the third.
The lone Flyer run of the contest came in the fourth inning as a walk to Link and an error in the outfield helped to bring the Marion Local hurler home to cut the advantage to 6-1.
Through their final pair of at bats the Cavaliers continued to utilize free passes of walks and hit by pitches of their batters to push across runs. Similarly to hit at bat in the third inning Knapke again drove in a pair of baserunners with a drive into the outfield to run the lead to 9-1 heading into the fifth.
Still having not allowed a hit entering the top of the fifth, Sudhoff kept his hit column clean as he struck out pinch hitter Hayden Wibbeler and designated hitter Reggie Kramer before getting the final out on a ground ball off of the bat of Alex Knapke to end the Flyers turns with the bat and keep his tally at no hits allowed.
Leading 9-1 the Cavaliers quickly placed a pair of runners on the bases on a single by Myles Blasingame and a walk to Reece Dellinger before being joined by a Blake Siefring single to load the bases with one out in the inning.
Despite being down 0-1 in the count Sudhoff helped his own cause and ended the game with a run rule victory as he scored a pair of runners on a ball slapped into the outfield to give his squad an 11-1 victory.
Marion Local (5-7) drops to 1-1 in the Midwest Athletic Conference race and will be in action next on Thursday as they welcome Versailles to Maria Stein.
Coldwater improves to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in MAC contests with their 18th straight defeat of the Flyers and will return to conference play Thursday as they travel to St. Henry.
WP: Luke Sudhoff (2-0) – 5IP, 1R, 0H, 2BB, 5K
LP: Gabe Link – 4.1 IP, 11H, 11R, 7ER, 4BB, 4K