By Chris Rutz

CINCINNATI, OH- In an absolute battle which started as a seven inning pitcher’s duel, Lakota East sparked a ten run rally in extra innings to edge out a scoreless Elder High school 10-0.

The Loveland stands were completely filled not only with fans, but with over ten collegiate scouts in addition to a handful of professional scouts Thursday afternoon as the No. 39 ranked Lakota East Thunderhawks upset the No. 9 ranked Elder Panthers.

Elder sent Junior right-hander Shane Smith (No. 42 ranked prospect), who already had a tournament win under his belt, to the mound to face-off against Lakota East Senior right-hander and Miami-Hamilton commit Kyle Lepper (No. 300 ranked prospect). The two pitchers did not disappoint the large crowd in attendance after they both were able to keep the opposing team scoreless for the first seven innings.

In the top of the first, sophomore outfielder, Kaleb Lepper was able to beat out an infield single after a great diving play was made to keep the ball in the infield on a hard ground ball up the middle by Elder junior second baseman Zach Vorherr. Lepper then stole second,but before any more damage was done, Smith produced back to back  strikeouts ending the Lakota East threat.

After a leadoff walk to senior leadoff man Johnny Lammers, in the bottom of the first, Kyle Lepper was able to settle down getting  two strikeouts and a fly out to end the first inning.

The second inning breezed by as both pitchers worked through the bottom of the opposing lineup going 1-2-3.

Smith sat East down in order once again in the top of the third as he racked up his third strikeout through the first two innings.

In the bottom of the third, Elder threatened by pushing a runner to second after Senior outfielder Drew Palercio drew a leadoff walk. Unfortunately, the Elder threat was squashed when Lepper caused the next two hitters to fly out.

In the top of the fourth, a one out hit batsmen by Smith was followed by an extremely athletic diving play in the hole Junior shortstop Kyle Orloff (No. 64 ranked prospect) that resulted in a fielder’s choice spoiling the lone base runner for Lakota East.

In the bottom half of the fourth, senior third baseman and Adrian commit Brian Guck squared a ball up with one out lining it into left center field for a long single. A hard ground ball back up the middle provided a much needed opportunity for a tailor made 4-6-3 double play for Lepper to end the inning.

Both teams went down in order again in the fifth inning as both pitchers began to find their groove managing to keep the opposing team completely off the bases. A 0-0 tie entering the top of the sixth inning of a looming pitcher’s duel helped contribute to a great playoff baseball atmosphere as both sides of stands began to become more and more enthusiastic.

Junior infielder Mykelti Akemon led off the sixth with a single and was followed by a sacrifice bunt to hopefully push the first run of the day across. The next batter reached base on a tough play with an errant throw on a high chopper to short that brought the first basemen off the bag. Smith was not rattled as he came up with clutch back to back strikeouts in the heart of the East order.

In the bottom of the sixth, Lepper had another 1-2-3 inning and took the 0-0 game into the top of the seventh with neither team really threatening offensively thus far.

In the top of the seventh, a great charging play by third baseman Brian Guck and an even better scoop by the recent junior defensive replacement at first base, Sam Caffaro, would keep the leadoff batter off of the base paths. After suffering a two out single by junior outfielder Mitch Bodden, Smith held Lakota scoreless once again. After winning their last playoff game in the bottom of the seventh, Elder was given a chance at another last inning victory with a 0-0 tie heading into the final inning.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, Lepper continued rolling in the bottom of the seventh when he sat Elder down 1-2-3 and notched his 4^th and final strikeout of the game

Luckily that meant the fans were owed some free baseball as we headed into extra innings still tied 0-0 and both starting pitchers on the mound.

It did not remain that way for long. 

In the top of the eighth, Lakota East decided to blow the game wide open as Akemon started the inning off again with a single up the middle. After a fly out and a mishandled bunt, runners advanced to first and second base with one out.

Junior infielder, Adam Mcdonough (No. 163 ranked prospect) roped a single into left field which loaded the bases and scored the go ahead run. After a flyout and a walk, Smith was replaced by Zach Vorherr with hopes of stopping the bleeding after only giving up one run.

Vorherr walked a run in and then gave up a two run RBI double to junior outfielder Mitch Bodden making the score 4-0 with two outs.

Elder gave up three more singles, made two more errors, and walked two more batters allowing Lakota East to have a ten run inning. Two more pitching changes were made in the inning as Lakota East took a commanding 10-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

Elder was unable to pull off the near impossible comeback losing a game that was deceivingly close 10-0. Lepper’s complete game, one hit, shutout will advance Lakota East to the District Championship this Saturday at Western Hills against No. 25 ranked Beavercreek.

Linescore

Lakota East  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -  10

Elder            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -  0

Winning Pitcher- ’14 Kyle Lepper- 8 IP, 1 hit, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks.

Losing Pitcher- ’15 Shane Smith- 7 2/3 IP, 5 hits, 2 walks.

Notable Hitters

Lakota East- ’15 Akemon (3 singles), ’15  Adam Mcdonough (Single, RBI), ’15 Mitch Bodden (single, double, 3 RBIs)

Elder- ’14 Brian Guck (single)