UNION CITY – In a back-and-forth Western Ohio Athletic Conference battle played under blustery conditions, the Arcanum Trojans found a way to finish, defeating the Mississinawa Valley Blackhawks 11-9 in eight innings in a hard-fought road win.
The game had all the makings of a classic, featuring momentum swings, timely hitting, and a determined Blackhawks squad that refused to go away. In the end, it was Ethan Kearney’s clutch two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning that proved to be the difference.
With the game tied 9-9, Colton Quigney led off the eighth with a single to center, setting the stage for Kearney, who delivered a towering shot to right-center field to give the Trojans an 11-9 advantage.
“Kearney went opposite field,” said Arcanum coach Randy Baker. “We had some decent hits during the game, not enough like I thought we should have.”
Mississinawa Valley threatened in the bottom of the inning when Elliott Seubert led off with a double, but Arcanum reliever Regan Christ shut the door with a lineout and back-to-back strikeouts to secure the win.
The Trojans struck first in the opening inning, taking advantage of a walk to push across an early run. Arcanum added two more in the second inning on a Derek Longstreth RBI single to build a 3-0 lead.
“We had a chance to put them down and left a couple runs on base when we were up 3-0,” Baker said. “You let a team like that hang around, and they are going to do what they did today.”
The Blackhawks answered in the bottom of the third inning, taking a 4-3 lead behind key hits from Caden Hanes and Bentley Manning, along with an Arcanum error.
Arcanum quickly responded in the fourth inning as Christ crushed a three-run home run over the center field fence and Quigney added an RBI double to give the Trojans a 7-4 edge.
“Regan had a nice shot early on,” Baker said. “It was a line drive shot – it wasn’t aided by the wind, it was a shot.”
Mississinawa Valley continued to battle, trimming the deficit to 7-6 in the fourth and eventually tying the game at 8-8 in the fifth inning behind a string of timely hits from Gavin Rehmert, Cole McGlothlin, Manning, and Seubert.
Neither team scored in the sixth, but Arcanum regained the lead in the seventh when Christ doubled and came around to score on a Longstreth RBI single for a 9-8 advantage.
The Blackhawks again answered in the bottom half, as McGlothlin doubled and later scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 9-9 and force extra innings.
“I knew when they got that one-run lead… I knew they were going to bring Regan Christ in,” said Mississinawa Valley coach Kyler Guillozet. “We did score a run off of him, so that is something to be proud of, and I am just very proud of my guys, they fight until the end – that’s for sure.”
Despite the loss, Guillozet’s Blackhawks proved they could compete with one of the conference’s top teams.
“That was the No. 1 team in the conference,” Guillozet said. “Nobody expected Mississinawa Valley to take Arcanum into extra innings… I am just very proud of my guys.”
Christ earned the win in relief for Arcanum, allowing one unearned run on two hits over three innings while striking out six. Bishop Cartwright started for the Trojans, giving up six runs (four earned) over four innings.
For Mississinawa Valley, Bentley Manning took the loss in relief, while Caleb Spradling started the game on the mound.
Both teams pounded out 12 hits apiece in the contest. Arcanum was led by Brewer, Christ, Longstreth, and Quigney with two hits each, while Seubert paced the Blackhawks with a 3-for-4 performance. Hanes, Seubert, and Manning each drove in two runs for Mississinawa Valley.
“They can hit, they battle,” Baker said. “We need some games like this… in a conference like this, you have to win tough games. We were fortunate to come out on top.”
BOX SCORE:
123 456 78 R H E
120 410 21 11 12 4 Arcanum
004 220 10 9 12 2 Mississinawa Valley
