Treece pitches Cougars past Titans

OTTAWA – Led by a brilliant performance on the mound Friday night from senior Owen Treece the visiting Van Wert Cougars handed Ottawa Glandorf their first Western Buckeye League loss with a 4-0 victory at Memorial Park.

OG starter Jaxon Buddelmeyer allowed a hit in the opening frame to leadoff hitter Jacob Place but quickly worked his way out of trouble with a pair of strikeouts to keep the Cougars off the scoreboard. Treece himself made quick work of opposing hitters in the bottom of the first thanks to teammate Turner Witten snaring a line drive at first and doubling up runner Jacob Balbaugh to end the inning.

Though he allowed two runners to reach thanks to an error and a hit by pitch, Buddelmeyer again worked himself out of trouble and back into the dugout with no damage done in the second thanks to another pair of strikeouts of Cougar hitters.

Van Wert pushed across the first run of the game in the visiting third as an error by the Titans allowed Jacob Place a spot on the bases. Following a second straight sacrifice bunt by TJ Stoller and a ground out by Treece, Ethan Rupert slapped a soft liner into centerfield to put the Cougars on top 1-0.

Ottawa Glandorf’s biggest opportunity to dent the scoreboard for the first time came in their half of the same frame after a one out walk to Wes Davidson and a single by Buddelmeyer, but was not to be as Treece struck out and induced a flyball out from the ensuing pair of Titan hitters to quell the rally.

In the top of the fourth inning the Cougars extended their lead to 2-0 on a two out double by Reis Weis who was driven in just a few pitches later by teammate Kaiden Bates.

Unfortunately for the host Titans their hit in the third inning would be their last of the evening as they would be turned away in each of the next four innings 1-2-3 by Treece.

“As a pitcher it becomes easier to throw when your offense keeps putting runs on the board. I was able to relax and attack the zone and just let my defense make plays” said Owen Treece on his performance after the game.

After a leadoff single in the top of the fifth gave the Cougars a runner in Stoller, a balk by Buddelmeyer quickly moved him to second base where he was sent in to score on a triple by Treece himself for a 3-0 lead.

Third baseman Aidan Pratt knocked in Treece to push the advantage to 4-0 with an RBI single but found himself responsible for the final out of the inning as he was thrown out attempting to steal second by Titan catcher Carter Schimmoeller.

While the last 14 straight hitters for Ottawa Glandorf were retired in order by the Cougars to end the game, perhaps the most impressive play of the bunch came in the fifth as Treece barehanded a ground ball hit towards third base and tossed across the bases to rob Schimmoeller of an infield hit.

Jaxon Buddelmeyer allowed four runs on seven hits on the evening while hitting a pair of batters and striking out a season high eight for the Titans (9-7-, 4-1) who are next in action on Saturday morning at 11:00 A.M. on the road at Miller City.

Owen Treece is now 5-1 on the season for the Cougars (13-3, 4-1) who are tied with Ottawa Glandorf for second place in the Western Buckeye League behind unbeaten Defiance. Treece allowed just a pair of hits and struck out seven Titan hitters while walking one.

“This group has a good ACME season and with every game we play the younger guys get more confident” Treece opined after the contest when asked about if he feels any pressure on being the lone returning starter from 2019.

Next up for Van Wert is an 11:00 A.M. Saturday morning tilt at Smiley Park against Delphos St. Johns.