Leipsic celebrates after scoring the final run to end the game against Riverdale on Thursday at Ed Sandy Field in Elida.
Chris Howell | The Lima News
ELIDA — Even before the first pitch was thrown in Leipsic’s 10-0 win over Riverdale in a Division IV regional baseball semifinal on Thursday at Elida, the Vikings’ coach Darren Henry thought they looked like a team that was ready to play.
And it didn’t take long for Riverdale to discover the same thing in a game Leipsic dominated from start to finish.
The Vikings (25-2) scored a run in the bottom of the first inning, added three more in the second and third innings, got a single run in the fourth inning and closed the game out on the run rule with two runs in the fifth inning.
They will play Fort Recovery at 5 p.m. Friday at Elida for the regional championship and a trip to the state tournament. Fort Recovery beat Montpelier 14-4 in Thursday’s other regional semifinal.
So, what did Henry see that made him believe Leipsic was eminently ready to play on Thursday afternoon?
“You can just tell. You can just tell. They were ready to go,” he said.
The first confirmation of Leipsic’s readiness came in the first inning when Quin Schroeder led off with a single, Tommy Offenbacher followed that with another single and Schroeder eventually scored on a passed ball for a quick 1-0 lead.
Schroeder said, “You could tell right off the bat. I got on base and then Tommy and got a run in the first inning. That’s always a good confidence booster. We came out today and didn’t let the moment affect us too much and I’m confident we’ll do it again tomorrow.”
Ethan Zeisloft, one of four seniors in Leipsic’s lineup, said “just getting the bats going from the start” was important. “Before we came here we took everything seriously and we were able to capitalize on it,” he said.
Offenbacher pitched a two-hitter, with both hits belonging to Riverdale starting pitcher Evan Reiter, who singled in the first inning and doubled in the third inning. Reiter allowed eight runs and eight hits before being relieved by Cameron Furr in the fifth inning.
“He loves to pitch. He’s going to come at you. He gives you everything he’s got out there. He was right around the plate all day today,” Henry said about Offenbacher. The junior right-hander also went 3 for 4 at the plate, including a two-run double in the fifth inning that ended the game.
Riverdale, 23-7 and playing in its first regional baseball tournament since 2000, also struggled on defense with six errors, two passed balls and a wild pitch.
Leipsic, playing in the regional for the third time in the last four seasons, did not commit an error.
“We have six guys who have played a lot of tournament baseball, they’ve played three and four years and that’s huge. They’re all good defensively. I think their tournament experience has helped us for sure,” Henry said. “We have three seniors and three juniors who have played a lot the last three or four years. They’ve played in the regionals, they’ve played in the district finals, they’ve faced good pitching and they’ve been good leaders for the young guys.”
Leipsic’s lead grew to 4-0 in the second inning when Colin Niese tripled and scored on a passed ball, Nick Schroeder walked and scored on a double by Avery Paris and Paris scored on an error.
Three more runs in the third inning made it 7-0. Niese started the inning by reaching base on an error and Myles Camareno singled. Quin Schroeder doubled to score Niese, and Offenbacher doubled to score Camareno and Schroeder.
In the fourth inning, Leipsic got its eighth run when Tyler Lammers singled, stole second and scored on throwing errors at second base and third base on the steal attempt. Camareno and Paris started the fifth inning with singles. After Schroeder reached base on an error, Offenbacher doubled to end the game.
Offenbacher was 3 for 4 in the game. Schroeder was 2 for 4 and Camareno and Paris were 2 for 3.
Leipsic 10, Riverdale 0
Score by innings:
Riverdale 000 00 — 0 2 6
Leipsic 133 12 — 10 11 0
WP — Tommy Offenbacher (6 IP, 2 hits, 3 strikeouts, 1 walk); LP — Evan Reiter (4 IP, 8 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk)
2B — Evan Reiter (R) 1, Tommy Offenbacher (L) 2, Quin Schroeder (L) 1, Avery Paris (L) 2
3B — Colin Niese (L) 1
Records: Leipsic 25-2; Riverdale 23-7.
