Lima Senior’s Brandon Griffith dives for a fly ball against Toledo Start during Monday’s game at Joe Bowers Field.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — Toledo Start pitcher Xavier Coleman was the story in his team’s 7-1 win over Lima Senior on Monday at Joe Bowers Field.
The senior right-hander took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, struck out 13 batters, and even talked coach Dan Weiss into letting him finish the game after Lima Senior put two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Coleman is the No. 1 pitcher for Start, which has won 10 consecutive Toledo City League championships in baseball.
“He’s done a great job for us the last three years,” Start coach Dan Weiss said. “He’s a great ball player, he’s a senior leader. He does everything for us. He’s also our No. 1 catcher. When we ask him to get on the hill and throw for us he does a great job.
“I was getting ready to take him out in the seventh inning but he talked me into leaving him in. I was getting ready to give him the hook but he said he still felt strong and no fatigue. We’ll ice him down for the two-hour ride home and he’ll be good,” he said.
Start (3-4 overall, 3-0 Toledo City League) scored two runs in the top of the second inning on a double by Coleman, a walk, an error, a single by Ryan Wright and a bases-loaded walk by Ethan Walentowski.
The Spartans avoided further damage by getting an inning-ending double play that started with center fielder Dalton Chiles catching a fly ball and ending with catcher Payton Rader tagging out a sliding Anthony St. Claire at the plate.
Start added a single run in the third ending then scored four runs in the fifth inning.
Lima Senior (1-6 overall, 0-2 Toledo City League) had only three bases runners in the first five innings – two hit batters and a walk.
But the first three hitters in the sixth inning all delivered base hits – a single by Clay Jordan, a single by Emmanuel Jokinen-Rutz and a single by Blake Hahn to load the bases. A balk called on Coleman scored a run but that was as far as Lima Senior’s rally went.
Jordan went 2 for 4 for the game for Lima Senior. Wright was 2 for 3 for Start.
Lima Senior’s next game will be at Toledo Waite on Wednesday.
Toledo Start 7, Lima Senior 1
Score by innings:
Start 021 040 0 7-7-1
Lima Sr. 000 001 0 1-5-5
WP – Xavier Coleman; LP – Brandon Griffith
2B – Xavier Coleman (TS)
Records: Start 3-4, 3-0 Toledo City League; Lima Senior 1-6, 0-2 Toledo City League.
