ARCANUM – Arcanum used timely hitting, strong pitching and solid defense to complete a 9-0 victory over the Dixie Greyhounds Saturday morning.
Austin Baker and Cole Burrell combined for seven innings of five hit, no run pitching while striking out five and walking none.
“Austin and Cole threw strikes today,” Arcanum baseball coach Randy Baker said. “We played good defense behind them.”
Austin Baker opened the game for the Trojans by pitching three dominant innings to begin the game. He allowed only one hit and very briskly moved through the Dixie lineup. He showed good control and command and for the most part pitched ahead in the count.
Arcanum immediately opened its attack on the Greyhounds as Cole Burrell, Jordan Dubbs and Conner Pohl set the tone by gong double, double and triple to open the first inning. All three would score, giving the Trojans a 3-0 lead after one frame.
Arcanum added a single tally in the second followed by three more runs in the third inning. The rally in the third was set up nicely by a Hunter Saunders single to center, a perfectly placed hit and run single by Nathan Kubik and a walk to Cody Meeks. All would score to push the Trojan lead to 7-0 after three innings.
In the Dixie fourth, the Greyhounds put runners on second and third with no one out. Austin Baker was able to wriggle out of the jam thanks to some questionable base running and some fine defensive work that cut down a runner at the plate and picked a runner off second base.
Burrell pitched from the fifth inning on for the Trojans. He would face 10 batters, allowing two hits and striking out four. Arcanum completed an unusual 1-3-5 double play in the sixth.
The Trojans scored their final runs in the fifth with a two-out rally finalized by a Pohl two-run single to complete the scoring.
“We got off to a good start, got key hits,” Coach Pohl said. “When they gave us mistakes we capitalized.
“We’re in a good spot right now. Good set up for next week.”
The top three of the Trojan batting order were the hitting leaders of the game. Burrell was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, Dubbs was 3-for-3 with three RBIs, and Pohl was 2-for-3 with four RBIs.
Arcanum is now 12-3 overall on the season and 8-0 in the Cross County Conference.
