Diamond dandy

SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP — It was a good start for Shawnee.

Bath pitcher Johny Simindinger gave up two home runs in the first two innings of Thursday’s Western Buckeye League baseball showdown at Shawnee.

However, that was all Shawnee would muster off the senior right-hander as Bath came back to pull out a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Shawnee, handing the Indians its first league loss of the spring.

Solo home runs by Clint Spencer and Cory Wilder were the only hits Shawnee (7-4, 3-1 WBL) recorded off Simindinger. Simindinger struck out seven, walked one in his complete-game effort. For the game, he threw just 78 pitches.

For Shawnee, junior right-hander Trey Runneals also went the distance on the mound. Runneals gave up the three runs on just three hits, while striking out seven and walking four.

After getting down 2-0, Bath (10-4, 3-1) scored a run in the fourth on a home run by Keaton Sullivan and then scored two more runs in the sixth to claim the lead. A fielder’s choice by Matt Wise and an RBI single by Sullivan, accounted for the two runs in the sixth for the Wildcats. Kyle Zimmerman had the other hit for Bath, a single in the sixth.

Bath coach Brian Jesko said Simindinger did a good job of getting ahead of the hitters.

“He pitched a solid game,” Jesko said. “He did a good job of locating his offspeed pitch on his first pitches.”

Spencer’s home run came in the first, while Wilder led off the second with a home run on the first pitch delivered by Simindinger. After Wilder’s blast over the left field fence, Simindinger set down the next 16 Shawnee batters. In the seventh, Simindinger walked Bruce Roberts to end the streak.

Simindinger said he has confidence in his defense.

“The two pitches they hit were good pitches,” Simindinger said of the home runs. “I knew I had a good defense behind me, so I knew they would make the plays.”

Bath committed just one error on the night. In the seventh, Dominic Crea hit a ground ball to Bath’s shortstop, Austin Best, who made an errant throw to first base. However, Simindinger forced Runneals, the next batter, to ground out to third to end the threat. In the seventh, Shawnee left two baserunners stranded.

Shawnee coach Chad Spencer said good defense and solid pitching can only carry a team so far.

“You won’t win too many WBL games with just two hits,” Spencer said. “We just didn’t put any pressure on him (Simindinger). He didn’t even have to work from the stretch until the seventh.”

Jesko said Thursday’s win was a good confidence booster for his squad.

“This is a big win for us,” Jesko said. “Anytime you can win a league game is big. We had the goal at the beginning of the season to win more league games than last year (two league wins). So, we’re playing pretty well. Hopefully, we can use this momentum for games down the road.”