Dylan Hefflinger
PBR Senior Writer and Northwest scout

GLANDORF - While driving through a torrential downpour to scout a baseball game I became a little skeptical if I was going to be able to watch, especially after two days in a row of cancellations in the area. 

However, Ottawa-Glandorf and Liberty Benton (No. 24, Division III) wanted to make my trip worthwhile and they succeeded at doing so with an epic 10-inning clash where the Titans pulled off the victory in walk-off fashion.

With the score knotted at four in the bottom half of the 10th and darkness coming fast (no lights at the facility), junior Tyler Zender sent the Titans fans home happy with a walk-off single past third to hand the Eagles their first loss on the season.

After a fly out, senior lead-off hitter Cory Imm ripped a single to left setting the table for the meat of the Titans' lineup. Talented sophomore shortstop Brad Croy followed with his second hit of the game, a line shot to the gap in left-center to put runners on second and third. After an intentional walk and ground out to the pitcher, the stage was set for Zender and he capitalized on his opportunity. 

"This was a great game for us to come back and win, especially the way (Alex) Harter came out and threw the ball early," O-G coach Nick Miller said.

Harter, a talented sophomore, was perfect through four innings and a pitcher to keep an eye on as he develops. The right-hander allowed four runs and 10 hits while fanning eight.

In the end, O-G unsigned senior Jaylen VonSossan got the upper hand, going 10 strong innings on the mound allowing four runs on six hits, while striking out eight. The 6-4 Von Sossan, who did not allow an earned run, retired 22 of 25 batters after the third inning.

"Both pitchers showed great command with all their pitches," Miller said. "Harter located his fastball really well and mixed in a change and curve to keep our hitters off balance, especially early in the game.

"Jaylen located his fastball well, but what made him effective was he was getting his curve and split over. Jaylen isn't going to overpower you but he usually isn't going to beat himself either. He is going to make you put the ball in play and challenge you with different pitches at any count. One thing our team knows when Jaylen is on the mound we need to play defense."

 

Liberty-Benton jumped on top in the first capitalizing on a two-out error to put the Eagles on top 1-0. The Eagles extended its lead in the third, scoring three, taking advantage of two more Titan errors.

With the Titans down 4-0 after going down 1-2-3 for four straight innings, Zender broke-up the perfect game bid with a shot up the middle for a single. After a walk, sophomore catcher Ben Deitering got the Titans on the board with an RBI single, Matt (Boomer) Warnecke followed with an RBI single and after a fielder's choice the Titans were down by just one.

In the following inning, O-G knotted the game at four. Senior three-hole hitter Cody Bockrath started the frame with a single, scoring on a double from cleanup hitter senior Jake Hashbarger.

"I thought this was a pretty good high school baseball game," L-B coach Jim Rucki said. "Both pitchers did a great job throwing strikes. Alex was tremendous for us. He had great command and was a bulldog.

"We made some mistakes missing the cutoff in the fifth inning that cost us. But this is a game that will make us better if we handle it the right way and learn from our mistakes. Hopefully, it will help us come tournament time."

Ottawa-Glandorf, known for its basketball (Division III state champions), football (regional finalist), and soccer (regional finalist) success, now looks to add the 2013 baseball team to the list after starting off the season 7-1. The Titans will have a challenge on Friday as they travel to Lima Shawnee for a battle against Cory Wilder, then travel to Wauseon (No. 5 Division II) for a doubleheader on Saturday.

Liberty-Benton looks to bounce back on Saturday as the Eagles host North Baltimore.

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

Each of these teams has a number of unsigned seniors, please visit the Unsigned Senior Scouting Blog. The blog gets updated throughout the week.

To discuss this game, please visit our partner JJHuddle.

Linescore

Liberty-Benton    103 000 000 0 - 4 6 1

Ottawa-Glandorf  000 031 000 1 - 5 10 3

Records: Ottawa-Glandorf 7-1, Liberty-Benton 7-1.

Winning pitcher: Jaylen VonSossan (10 innings, 4 runs, 6 hits, 8 K's, 2 walks).

Losing pitcher: Alex Harter (9 2/3 innings, 5 runs, 10 hits, 8 K's, 2 walks).

Leading hitters: (Liberty-Benton, 6 hits) - Austin Ingleston 2 singles; Jordan Harpest 2 singles. (Ottawa-Glandorf, 10 hits) - Brad Croy single, double; Jake Hashberger single, double; Tyler Zender 2 singles.