Winesburg #1 on precipice of East Holmes Little League title

The East Holmes Little League baseball tournament is in full swing, with teams from Berlin, Winesburg, Walnut Creek, Brewster and Beach City doing battle.The tournament kicked off on Monday, June 18, and as of press time has progressed to the loser’s bracket finals.In the opener, Winesburg #2 got stellar pitching from Kody Miller and Austin Weaver in cruising to a 9-0 victory over Beach City #2. The two hurlers combined to strike out eight, allowing just one hit, a fourth inning single, in the romp.In the opening night’s second contest, Beach City #1 shocked the number two seed Walnut Creek #1 team, scoring seven times against ace Ryan Aleshire in the third inning, and then held on for a 7-3 victory. Aleshire and Andy Miller combined to whiff 10 Beach City hitters, and only allowed three hits, but walks, especially in the third inning, were Aleshire’s undoing.In the next evening of games, Berlin #2 squared off with Berlin #3 in a contest that on paper should have been an exciting game, and neither team disappointed, the two teams having played three times this season, with all three games decided by one run, with Berlin #3 winning two of them.This time Berlin #2 jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then hung on for dear life to claim a 4-3 victory. Berlin #2’s Cameron Miller struck out six and cruised through five innings unscathed. Meanwhile his teammate, Kendall Hochstetler, had produced a huge two-out, two run single to spot Berlin #2 to a 4-0 lead. However, Berlin #3 responded in the sixth, chasing Miller on three hits by Brady Gray, Claye Hummel and Michael Miller. With one in and two on, Cordell Miller came on and allowed a pair of walks and got a strike out to make it 4-2. Cameron Keim slapped a ball to short, where Cameron Miller bobbled it, but he quickly threw to third, where Kyle Mast slapped a tag on the Berlin #3 runner, who had rounded the base too far, securing a 4-3 win. Hummel took the loss but threw very well in defeat, striking out seven.The second game of the night wasn’t quite as dramatic, but it sure was plenty of fun for Walnut Creek #2, which pounded Berlin #1 17-3. In that game, a host of Walnut Creek players had a good time at the dish.Harrison Coblentz rapped out three hits, reached base all five times he was up and scored three times. Winning pitcher Stevie Beachy collected a pair of hits and drove in four runs, while striking out six on the mound. Joey Miller had three hits, scored twice and drove in three, while Trempor Coblentz scored three times on a pair of hits. For Berlin, Kevin Troyer had two hits and Michael Miller added a triple. Walnut Creek blew the game wide open in the final inning, scoring 10 times while sending 14 hitters to the plate.Walnut Creek #1 plastered Beach City #2 15-4, Beach City scoring all four of their runs in the first inning. Damien Kandel got the win on the mound for Walnut Creek.Any drama in the game disappeared in the second inning, when Walnut Creek, sporting a 2-0 lead, plated eight runs by sending 13 hitters to the plate. Kandel scored three times, Andy Miller pounded out a pair of hits and scored twice and Gio King collected two hits and two runs for Walnut Creek. Kandel struck out seven on the night.In the winner’s bracket night cap one game later, Winesburg #2’s Sam Raber completely shut down Winesburg #1, needing only 63 pitches to lead his team to a 13-0 victory. Raber allowed just a third inning double to Alex Miller, struck out 10 while facing just two hitters over the minimum. For Winesburg #2, Drew Yoder slammed three hits and scored three times, Raber added a pair of hits and two runs to his performance on the mound and Ben Chupp scored three times for the winners.Entering the semifinals of the winner’s bracket, Berlin #2 took on Beach City #1 in the upper bracket, while Walnut Creek #2 and Winesburg #2 faced off in the lower bracket.In Game One on Tuesday, June 19, Berlin got solid pitching from Cameron Miller and Kyle Mast, scored seven runs in the first inning and never looked back, scorching Beach City #1 12-1. Miller, Mast and Andrew Miller all ripped a pair of hits, Andrew Miller driving in four runs in the game.In the nightcap, Winesburg #1’s Alec Yoder completely shut down Walnut Creek #2, working his way out of a key two-on, two-out jam in the fourth to help Winesburg earn a 6-1 victory.Yoder went 5-1/3 innings, striking out nine and allowing just three hits. He also banged out three hits, while teammates Drew Yoder (two hits, two runs), Ben Chupp (two hits, two runs and two RBI) and Sam Raber (two hits, two runs) made the first four hitters in the line-up produce all six runs.Among Walnut Creek #2’s four hits was a Harrison Coblentz double.That advanced Winesburg #1 and Berlin #2 to the winner’s bracket finals.Meanwhile, in the loser’s bracket action on Wednesday, June 20, Beach City #1 rode Garrett Adams’ three hit, four RBI performance to a 10-5 victory over Winesburg #2. Winesburg found itself up 5-3 heading into the fifth inning, but Beach City exploded for four in the fifth and added three more in the sixth to pull away. Winesburg’s Alex Miller scored two runs in the loss, which eliminated Winesburg #2.In the nightcap, a pair of Walnut Creek teams faced off, with Walnut Creek #1 sending Walnut Creek #2 home with a 7-5 defeat. In the game, Walnut Creek #1 was trailing 4-3 heading into the fifth inning. Derek Burke, Jared Miller and Justin Beachy all drew walks, then Gio King tied the game with a single. Pat Miller walked, forcing in the go-ahead run, then Andy Miller singled in another for the 7-5 lead. Andy Miller then came on and retired Walnut Creek #2 in order over the next two frames to secure the victory and send their fellow Walnut Creek team packing. Trempor Coblentz crushed a three-run double to highlight the Walnut Creek #2 offense.