Roughriders lose close one to OG in pitcher’s duel.
Close losses can be the toughest.
St. Marys and Ottawa-Glandorf locked horns in a pitcher’s duel on Friday, with the Titans getting a couple timely hits and flashing the leather in the field for a 2-1 Western Buckeye League win.
Jaxon Buddelmeyer of O-G and St. Marys’ lefty Braedan Trogdlon were both sharp and went the full seven innings for their squads.
Each allowed just three hits and one walk. Buddelmeyer struck out six and Trogdlon got five.
Ottawa-Glandorf put together a couple hits in the third to take a 2-0 lead.
St. Marys manufactured a run in the fourth. They had a good scoring chance in the fifth, but couldn’t cash in.
Adam Tobin had a single and scored the Riders’ run, which came on a sacrifice fly by Joey Caldwell.
Logan Hale and Ty
Kiehl had the other hits.
Landon Jordan doubled, while Buddelmeyer and Trevor Schimmoeller singled. Buddelmeyer and Carter Schimmoeller drove in the runs.
Coach Adam Graves of St. Marys said that “we hit the ball hard several times. They kept us off balance.”
He praised Trogdlon for being effective at changing speeds.
“We had one bad play, and it was enough to set them up,” Graves added.
The loss concludes a busy week for the Roughriders, as it was their fourth game in five days. They are 1-3 in league play and 7-6 overall.
After O-G went in order to start the game, Trogdlon led off and drew a walk. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Tobin, then advanced to third on a ball in the dirt.
Dylan Trogdlon ripped a pitch to the right side, but a leaping catch by Trevor Schimmoeller robbed him of a hit and a likely run. Caldwell then grounded out to end the inning.
Both pitchers crusied through the second.
Trogdlon retired the leadoff man in the third, then yielded his first hit as Jordan lived up to his designated hitter title. He doubled to rightcenter. Buddelmeyer then helped himself with a single past shortstop to score Jordan.
The throw back to the plate went to the fence, and Buddelmeyer advanced two spots to third.
St. Marys got the second out on a ground bal lo short. However, Buddelmeyer was able to tag and score a run which would prove vital.
In the bottom of the fourth, Tobin sent a ball to the right of the shortstop and raced down the line ahead of the throw to break up the no-hit bid.
He went to second when Buddelmeyer was called for a balk.
Dylan Trogdlon then hit a ball into shallow center. But it was snared just before touching the grass by center fielder Wes Davidson. Tobin had taken off for third, but hustled back safely.
A wild pitch would put him on the doorstep. Caldwell then hit one down into foul territory in the right-field corner. It was far enough out to permit Tobin to tag and score. The inning then ended with a groundout.
Trogdlon breezed through the top of the fifth.
Aidan Eigenbrod then drilled one, but it was the third baseman, Alex Macke, who snared it for the out.
Hale singled with Cole Koenig going in to run. (Koenig was the star Thursday as he tossed a no-hitter against WaynsfieldGoshen).
Kiehl also got a hit into left.
Andrew Ibrahim reached on a fielder’s choice as the Titans went to second for the force on Kiehl.
Trogdlon took a cut at the first pitch which was bounced to second and thrown over to end the inning to deny the Riders from tying it up.
O-G put two runners on with one away in the sixth via a single and hit batter. Trogdlon kept them off the board, getting the next two hitters.
Buddelmeyer then went 1-2-3 in the bottom half, with two strikeouts.
Trogdlon completed his day with a 1-2-3 top half of the seventh.
Howell led off the bottom half. He struck out, with the throw to first after strike three was dropped. Buddelmeyer then made it four in a row by getting Eigenbrod looking. Hale was the last hope, but grounded a 2-0 pitch to third, which was fired acoss the diamond in time.
St. Marys will have a few days to rest, with their next game set for Tuesday at Van Wert, followed by a trip to Shawnee next Friday.