Columbus Grove’s Shep Halker slides safely into second base while Crestview’s Carson Hunter waits for the throw during Thursday’s game at Columbus Grove. Head to LimaScores.com for more high school sports photos.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
COLUMBUS GROVE — Columbus Grove head baseball coach Brayden Sautter wants his team to be more offensive minded this season.
In Thursday’s key Northwest Conference baseball game against visiting Crestview, Sautter’s team stepped up to the task.
Columbus Grove pounded nine base hits, en route to a 13-3 run-rule victory (five innings).
With the win, Columbus Grove improves to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the NWC. Crestview slips to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
“We really worked during the offseason and early in the year, on making sure the offense isn’t the issue,” Sautter said. “We’ve had good pitching for two years. This senior class has three really good arms. I think we have five or six good arms (total). We knew that if we wanted to beat teams that were good like Crestview, it wasn’t going to work, just shutting them down for five or seven innings. It was going to take us to be able to hit the ball. There are a lot of good pitchers out there. So, we knew we were going to have to hit the ball.”
Columbus Grove received a solid pitching performance Thursday from senior right-hander Brenton Renner, who pitched all five innings.
Renner scattered six hits, while striking out five, walking one and hitting a batter. He threw 82 pitches.
Senior right-hander Carson Hunter got the starting nod on the mound for Crestview.
Hunter worked just 2 1/3 innings before being lifted. Hunter was tabbed for six runs on four hits. He struck out four, walked two and hit two batters. Hunter threw 66 pitches.
Preston Kreischer pitched one inning for the Knights, before being lifted for Parker Speith, who finished out the game on the mound.
“That’s a really good pitcher (Hunter) that we just beat,” Sautter said. “Carson (Hunter) is their No. 1. He’s a really good pitcher. Our plan doesn’t always go as planned. Our plan was to chase him and see what happens. … We were able to do more than expected, and good things happened.”
Heading into the home half of the second inning, Crestview led 3-1.
Then in the bottom of the second for Columbus Grove, designated-hitter Bo Birnesser (1 for 4, 3 RBI) smashed a liner to right field that cleared the fence for a three-run home run, putting the Bulldogs up 4-3.
“That is a lot of raw power,” Sautter said about Birnesser. “He swings downward and puts backspin on the ball. It’s his second (home run) of the year. I told him for the last couple years, ‘If you just focus on being on time with putting the barrel of the bat on it, you have the raw strength and power to put it out whenever you want’. … And it’s showing right now.”
Columbus Grove added two more runs on two hits in the third to extend its lead to 6-3.
Then, in the bottom of the fourth, the Bulldogs plated seven runs on three hits to push out to the 10-run lead. Crestview committed two critical errors in the fourth. For the game, the Knights committed four miscues.
Sautter liked the way his pitcher buckled down, early on.
“Brenton (Renner) did a nice job, even when they tagged him for those three runs the first two innings. He still left two (runners on base) in each inning. Those innings could have been a lot worse. But he toughened up and we made the plays that we needed to,” Sautter said.
Columbus Grove committed just one error on the day.
Shep Halker went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI for Columbus Grove. Teammates Brock Hoffman and Landen Schroeder each had two hits for the Bulldogs.
For Crestview, Parker Speith went 2 for 2 at the plate. Hunter Jones and Connor Sheets each had a double for the Knights.
Note: In Crestview’s 10-0 win over Spencerville this past Tuesday, longtime Crestview head coach Jim Wharton recorded his 600th career victory.
Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
