By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

ARCANUM — After going down 2-0 early, the Arcanum bats woke up. The Trojans won 15-5 at home on April 22 over WOAC foes Preble Shawnee.

Head coach Randy Baker said the team responded well after a rough start. The team got the bats out early and often to get the run-rule win.

“I thought our bats really woke up tonight. For the first time this year, we started to hit. Hit the way we have been seeing in practice, in BP and in the cage. We started to hit tonight. Which is a great sign for us,” Baker said.

With the bases loaded and one out in the first inning, senior Caleb Burke drove in a run on a RBI single. A walk by freshman Luke Stephens tied the game.

With two outs, the team scored three more runs to take the lead. Sophomore Kolton Quigney and senior Dakota Kendig both drove in a run. Sophomore Derek Longstreth walked in a run to make it a 5-2 game.

The bats came alive again in the second inning with a seven-run inning. Freshman Lucas Miller and Quigney had back to back two-run doubles. Quigney came around to score on a wild pitch. Sophomores Ethan Kearney and Regan Christ each drove in a run to make it 12-2.

The Arrows didn’t go away quietly as they scored three more runs in the third inning. Arcanum had a chance to add more runs in the third inning, but failed to score with the bases loaded.

The Trojans shrugged off the scoreless inning and put up two more runs in the fourth. Christ and sophomore Bryce Kramer each had a sacrifice groundout.

Outside those two innings, the Arcanum pitchers and defense held the Preble Shawnee bats in check. Baker said junior Seth Fearon pitched well to start the game. Then freshman Bishop Cartwright came in and overcame a slow start to his appearance.

“He was a little rattled to start with. But then he calmed down and threw well in the past couple of innings. Good learning experience for him. Good time to get him in,” Baker said.

Arcanum had bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning. One run would give the Trojans a walk-off run-rule win.

Senior Jacob Flayler came in to pitch hit. Early in the at bat, Flayler poked one into right field to score the game-winning run. Baker was thrilled to see his senior come in off the bench and have that moment.

“That’s big moment for the senior there. I’m glad to see him have that moment. He works extremely hard. For him to get that moment was awesome,” Baker said.

Cartwright finished the game with three strikeouts in three innings of work on the mound.

The Trojans have won four games in a row and have won six of their last seven games. Baker said the team will have their ups and downs with their youth, but have shown improvement over the course of the year.

“They’ve been taking what we’ve been saying. They’ve instilled their confidence at the plate and it’s showing. Like coach said, it’s going to take time. We’re teaching some things that they’ve never even heard of before and we’re trying to do it on the run,” Baker said. “I’m very proud of the guys tonight. I thought we hit really well.”

Arcanum is 9-6 on the season with a 5-1 WOAC record. They will be at Twin Valley South on April 23 for a 5 p.m. first pitch.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected].