By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

DARKE COUNTY — Here are the scores and stats from the high school baseball games from April 29 – May 1.

Franklin Monroe (7-11, 3-5)

ARCANUM — The Jets started the week with an 8-5 loss at home to Emmanuel Christian on April 29. Head coach Tyler Zimmerman said the team didn’t come out with the right energy. After some early mistakes, they were down early.

“I didn’t feel like the energy was there from the dugout. A lot of mental mistakes on our part. They (Emmanuel Christian) made the plays. They hit the ball hard, put it where we weren’t and we weren’t ready for that,” Zimmerman said.

It was a 1-1 game after the second inning. Sophomore Madex Skidmore scored for the Jets on a wild pitch.

In the top of the third inning, Emmanuel Christian scored four runs to regain the lead. Zimmerman said while Emmanuel Christian hit the ball hard and found gaps, he expects more out of his defense. Two of the four runs scored were off an error.

Franklin Monroe got a run back in the fifth inning as they scored off an error on a ball put into play by sophomore Brandt Filbrun.

After Emmanuel Christian threatened to score in the fifth, they scored three more runs in the sixth inning.

The bats for the Jets started to show more life in the last two innings. Sophomore Landon Osborn hit a RBI single to close the gap a little bit.

Then in the bottom of the seventh, Franklin Monroe had bases loaded but had two outs. Junior Josh Armstrong hit a two-run single. But that was where the comeback attempt stopped.

Zimmerman said the the bats showed up too late in this game. That along with some mistakes along the way put Franklin Monroe behind the eight ball.

“We waited way too long today. Put ourselves in hole deep and then you got to try to fight back up. We scored three in the seventh, ran ourselves out of that inning. Maybe could have kept things going,” Zimmerman said. “But, we didn’t make the plays we needed to defensively and ECA did.”

Armstrong pitched five innings and had four strikeouts. Senior Conner Neitzelt had a strikeout in one inning pitched.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Franklin Monroe bounced back the next day with a 3-2 win over Ansonia. Osborn, Neitzelt and junior Matthew Hurley each drove in a run. The Jets scored all three runs in the sixth inning. Junior Chase Stebbins pitched seven innings and allowed two hits and struck out seven.

The team then lost to National Trail, 3-1. Hurley had three hits in the game. Filbrun pitched all seven innings and had two strikeouts.

Franklin Monroe will host Versailles on May 6. They will then be at Greenville on May 7 and at Preble Shawnee on May 8. All three games are set for a 5 p.m. start.

Versailles (17-3, 6-0)

MARIA STEIN — Versailles continued their win streak over their MAC opponents early this week. They won 19-3 over New Bremen on April 29. Five different players had two RBI. Senior Lane Bergman had five hits in the game. Senior AJ Griesdorn pitched four innings and had four strikeouts. Junior Ben Subler had a strikeout in an inning pitched.

The Tigers then grinded out a 6-1 road win at Marion Local on April 30. Versailles head coach Brad Koopman said it’s not easy to get conference wins, especially in the MAC. His team had to fight to get this win.

“There’s not too many MAC games you’re going to go there and just walk over somebody. There are going to be battles with just about everybody in the league. Sometimes, they’re harder to grind out than others and the boys fought hard today,” Koopman said.

The Flyers scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. Junior Chase Monnin walked in the run, but got out of the jam after that.

Monnin only got better as the game went on. He retired the side in order in the second inning. In the sixth inning when momentum was on Versailles side, Monnin struck out the side in 10 pitches.

Marion Local had a tough time putting any pressure on Versailles offensively.

“I kind of made the joke with him there at the end about how maybe we need to spend a little more time in the bullpen before and get locked in. As the game went on, he seemed to get stronger and stronger,” Koopman said.

Versailles grabbed the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Junior Ross Francis and senior Joel Gehret each drove in a run.

Then in the fifth with two outs, Griesdorn drove a ball to deep center for a two-run double. Koopman said he loved Griesdorn’s approach on that hit as he fought back after being down in the count. He worked to get the right pitch to drive.

Then in the sixth, senior Michael Osborne put a ball in play that Marion Local misplayed. Two runs scored on the error and Versailles led 6-1.

The bottom of the Versailles lineup set the table for the top of the order. Koopman said Osborne and junior Jace Watren are scrappy guys who can leg out a ground ball to get on base.

Monnin finished the game with 10 strikeouts.

Versailles is ahead of two teams with one conference loss in the MAC standings. The Tigers can clinch an outright MAC title if they win the rest of their games. Koopman said if they keep doing what they’ve been doing so far this season, they will have a really good chance of coming away with the title.

“Just keep having the same approach, playing loose, getting after it, unfazed by anything and fight until the final out. Do everything you need to do and then we’ll be on top,” Koopman said.

Versailles will be at Franklin Monroe on May 6 and then at Bradford on May 7 with both games at 5 p.m.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Greenville (9-12, 5-11)

GREENVILLE — The Green Wave started the week with a 12-0 loss at Troy on April 29. Freshman Cole Oswalt had two hits in the game. Freshman Charlie Jasenski had three strikeouts in 2.2 innings pitched.

The team then got off to a slow start in a 6-3 loss to Sidney at home. Head coach Adam Eberwein said the mistakes the team made at Troy followed them into this game. Sidney put the ball in play a lot early in the game and Greenville couldn’t consistently make the play.

“I understand you play the game long enough that’s just kind of the way things fall sometimes. But when you’re playing teams that we play in the MVL, you can’t make little mistakes. You can’t make small base running mistakes. You can’t afford to have two or three errors in a game and still expect to be able to win at the end of the day,” Eberwein said.

The Yellow Jackets scored two runs in the second inning and three runs in the third inning. Sidney took advantage of some early errors by Greenville and hit the ball deep into the outfield for a few extra base hits.

The Green Wave battled back in the bottom of the third inning. They had bases loaded with two outs.

Freshman Isaac Kerg drove in a run on a RBI single. Junior Braeden Wills scored on a wild pitch and senior Bryce Blumenstock put a ball in play to score the third run.

Greenville started to play a better game from that point on. Sidney only had three hits the rest of the game. Eberwein said his pitchers, Oswalt and Blumenstock, did a good job on the mound.

Oswalt has been a consistent pitcher for Greenville this season. He continued to do his job and pitch well.

“As a freshman, it’s sometimes a daunting task to go up against some of the teams we go up against. Cole has come out and he throws well. He throws strikes and he’s consistent,” Eberwein said.

Blumenstock came in relief and allowed only one hit. Eberwein said Blumenstock didn’t start focusing on pitching until his sophomore year. The work he has put into his pitching shows when he takes the mound.

“The last couple of years here, he’s really turned it on pretty well to be a good solid pitcher. He came out and did his job too. He came out and threw strikes. Had some of his off-speed working pretty good today, which is always good,” Eberwein said.

The Green Wave did get base runners on, but couldn’t get them around to score. Eberwein said the mistakes defensively carried with them on the base pads. Some base running mistakes cost them an extra base here and there.

The young Greenville team couldn’t overcome some of the small mistakes. Eberwein said the team has shown growth this season, but they still have some work to do.

Oswalt finished with two strikeouts in four innings pitched while Blumenstock had five strikeouts in three innings pitched.

Greenville will host Eaton on May 6 and then host Franklin Monroe on May 7 with both games at 5 p.m.

A full game recap can be found on our website, dailyadvocate.com.

Around the county:

Ansonia (7-10, 5-3)

The Tigers started the week with a 3-2 loss to Franklin Monroe. Junior Asher Shives had a RBI. Senior Trevor Hemmerich had seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched while senior Keegen Weiss had five strikeouts in 2.2 innings pitched. The team then lost 12-0 to St. Henry the next day. St. Henry scored eight runs in the first inning. Weiss and senior Landyn Bowman and Nick Burns each had a hit. Ansonia will be at Bradford on May 6 and then host Troy Christian on May 8 with both games at 5 p.m.

Arcanum (12-6, 8-1)

The Trojans won 10-0 over Tri-County North on April 30. Arcanum put up seven runs in the third inning. Sophomores Regan Christ and Kolton Quigney each had two RBI. Freshman Lucas Miller had eight strikeouts in five innings pitched. Arcanum will host Fort Recovery on May 6 and then be at Anna on May 7 with both games starting at 5 p.m.

Bradford (13-5, 5-2)

The WOAC race gained a bit more clarity as the Railroader lost to Dixie, 1-0, on the road. Bradford was one of four teams with one conference loss before this game. Senior Caleb Johnson drove in the only run of the game for Dixie in the bottom of the sixth inning. Senior Tucker Miller pitched all seven innings and allowed two hits while striking out nine. Bradford will host Dayton Christian on May 4 for a double header starting at 11 a.m. They will then host Ansonia on May 6 and then host Versailles on May 7 with both games at 5 p.m.

Tri-Village (4-12, 0-8)

The Patriots lost 10-0 at Newton on April 29. Juniors Cameron Kimmel and Ayman Stephens along with sophomore Jaiden Beam each had a hit. The team then lost 9-2 to Twin Valley South on May 1. Beam and Stephens each had a RBI. Freshman Lucas Brown had a strikeout in 4.2 innings pitched. Tri-Village will host Newton on May 6, be at Troy Christian on May 7 and then host New Bremen on May 8 with all three games starting at 5 p.m.

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