By Chris Valentine
PBR Ohio Scouting Director 

LANCASTER , OH – Overcoming their only regular season loss, Bloom Carroll defeated Bishop Watterson 7-2 in a Central District Division II championship.

The Bulldogs handed the game ball to 6-foot-6, 220-pound junior RHP Sam Bordner, a University of Louisville recruit, who came out firing with a 90-91 mph fastball through the first three innings.

Bordner cruised through the Eagles’ lineup until he ran into trouble in the fourth inning as junior Avery Janning picked up his second hit of the day with an infield single and junior Jacob Bolton reached first base after a fielding error on a intended sacrifice bunt.

After striking out the next batter, Bordner induced a weakly hit 0-2, fielder’s choice to the shortstop by senior Bobby Truelove, which scored the first run of the game.

Stopping the bleeding, Bordner responded by striking out the next batter to end the inning.

The Bulldogs responded in the bottom half of the fourth as Bordner and sophomore DH Seth Paszke connected on back-to-back singles. Junior 1B Mitch Lambert advanced on a fielding error by the Eagles.

With no outs, Watterson junior RHP Sam Rice forced junior Tristen Epp to roll over on a ground ball to first base, but the Eagles couldn’t turn the double playing, managing only to record the out at home.

Rice continued to battle as he induced a potential inning-ending double play to the shortstop, but a throwing error to first base by junior 2B Avery Janning allowed two runs to score, putting the Bulldogs up 2-1 as the inning concluded.

With Bordner facing little resistance from the Bishop Watterson lineup, Bloom Carroll added to their lead in the bottom half of the fifth inning.

Senior OF Tyler Sorge bunted for a hit and quickly advanced to second base on a throwing error. Senior 2B Brandon Bussert followed with a walk and senior C Jarrett Peters’s (Seton Hill recruit) sacrifice bunt turned into a base hit.

With the bases loaded, junior OF Roger Danison, one of the top prospects in the state’s Class of 2015, connected on a line drive to left-center to increase the Bulldogs’ lead to 4-2.

Rice’s day ended on the mound and junior RHP Avery Janning came on in relief striking out Bordner and Lambert, but not before allowing a sacrifice fly to sophomore DH Seth Pacszke, bringing the Bulldogs’ lead to 5-2.

Looking for insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Bloom Carroll senior 2B Brandon Bussert delivered with a double to left field bringing in two more runs as the Bulldogs increased their lead to 7-2.

The story of the game was Bordner’s performance on the mound. He recorded a complete game, allowing only three hits while striking out 14 batters and walking three. He managed to strike out the last five hitters in the Watterson lineup in 10 of their 15 at bats.

Rice took the loss going four innings allowing five runs and six hits, walking one, and hitting one batter.

Bloom Carroll advances to face Jackson on Thursday at 2:00 at Gant Stadium in Zanesville, Ohio.

To view scouting notes from this game, please visit the Ohio High School Scouting Blog. The blog gets updated throughout the week.

To discuss this game, please visit our partner JJHuddle.