Lancers go batty in home opener
LAKEVILLE — the Laville High School baseball team may have spoiled its home crowd.
After three road games to start the season, the Lancers exploded for nine first-inning runs on the way to a 20-0 romp over Argos in the team’s home opener Monday. the game was shortened to five innings due to the mercy rule.
“We needed a game like this,” said Laville head coach Brian Lawler. “It was nice to get the bats going early and score some runs.”
In the first inning alone, 15 batters went to the plate with seven players knocking in runs to start the fireworks. the big hits were RBI doubles by Leyton Czarnecki and Ayden Doyle, but the offensive outpouring was just beginning.
the Lancers scored three runs with two outs in the second, with Czarnecki hitting another RBI two-bagger and Jayden Laurence coming through with an RBI single.
LV sent 13 batters to the plate in the third and
put up seven more runs on just three hits. The key blows were a bases-loaded double by Andrew Dill, another two-out single by Laurence to score a run, and Austin Belknap’s tworun single.
For the game, the Nos. 1-3 positions in the LV lineup finished 8-for-9 with nine RBIS and 10 runs scored.
“It’s nice to get that kind of output from the top of the lineup,” said Lawler. “Dill and Czarnecki get us going and the freshmen (Lucas Plummer, Laurence) are doing a good job behind them. The guys were aggressive at the plate and that was good to see.”
The impressive numbers at the plate for the home team included leadoff hitter Dill finishing 3-for-3 with a double, 3 RBIS and three runs scored. Czarnecki was 2-for-2 (both doubles), with 3 RBIS and four runs scored. Laurence was 3-for4 with 3 RBIS and two runs scored. Belknap was 2-for3 and knocked in three. Doyle was 1-for-1 with three walks and crossed home plate three times.
From the mound, Czarnecki was the winning pitcher, allowing three hits while striking out six and walking just one in four innings. Doyle came on in relief and struck out the side in his one inning of work.
“Leyton settled in nicely,” Lawler said of the senior right-hander. “He threw strikes and mixed his pitches well. That was Doyle’s first time out on the mound this year so it was a great way to start the season for him.”
Two of Argos’ three hits were the first two batters of the game - singles by Jackson Kindig and Kurt Johnson - but a ‘strike out, throw him out’ double play was followed by a fly out to end the early threat and Czarnecki cruised after that. Jackson and Dylan
Kindig each hit the ball hard later in the game, but their fly balls were hauled in nicely by outfielders Logan Plummer and Dill,
respectively.
Laville’s next game is Thursday at South Bend Riley, while Argos travels to Culver on Wednesday.
• LAVILLE 20, ARGOS 0
At Lakeville
Argos 000 00 - 0 3 1 Laville 937 1x - 20 13 0
Kole Burkholder, Dylan Kindig (1), Kurt Johnson (3), Jaiden
Klingerman (3) and Kurt Johnson, Jackson Kindig (3); Leyton Czarnecki, Ayden Doyle (5) and Jayden Laurence.
2B: Czarnecki 2 (LV), Doyle (LV) Records: Laville 2-2, Argos 0-2