Trojans rout Hardin Northern in district semifinal

GALION — South Central coach Mike Perry really wasn't sure which of his top pitchers to start.Eventually, Bowling Green State University signee Sam Seidel's defense at shortstop was the determining factor and the Trojans turned to Eric Sanders.Good call.Sanders allowed just two hits over five shutout innings and top-seeded South Central blasted fourth-seeded Hardin Northern, 10-0, in a Division IV district semifinal at Galion's Heise Park on Wednesday."Eric will throw strikes," SC coach Mike Perry said. "We were thinking we were going to start Sam or Eric. We went with Eric because I want Sam's glove out there defensively. Eric did exactly what we wanted him to do &sbquo; throw strikes and make them put the ball in play and let our defense do its job."With the win, the state-ranked No. 9 Trojans improved to 20-6 overall and advance to face Firelands Conference rival and No. 2 Plymouth (18-7) at 5 p.m. Friday back at Galion for the district championship."You have a sophomore starting the biggest game that he has ever started in his high school career," Perry said. "Getting a few runs early calmed him down. He was going to attack anyways. That's just the kind of kid he is. He did a great job and he has a lot of trust in his catcher."Sanders put the Polar Bears (15-9) down in order in the first and third innings and allowed just a two-out single in the second to allow South Central to take control of the game at the plate.It didn't take long for the Trojans to get things going. In the first inning, Seidel walked and Karl Ferber singled up the middle for an immediate opportunity. Each moved up a base on a pick-off attempt that was thrown into the outfield. After Kayden Hauler popped out, Seidel scored and Ferber went to third on a wild pitch.Brandon Mitchell walked and Aaron Hauler's single brought in Ferber to make it 2-0. With runners on the corner, a ball hit by Sanders was misplayed, scoring Mitchell."We are a young team and to give a team like South Central some extra outs in the first inning hurt," HN coach Tyler Paugh said. "To give them extra outs and let them score some runs I think set the tone. We're young and some of the kids, this is a big-time moment for them."Sanders helped his own cause in the third inning. Kayden Hauler walked, but HN pitcher Xander Wilson got the next two outs. Sanders came up and laced a double to the fence in left field. Hauler came around to score to push the margin to 4-0.Hardin Northern had its first real chance to cut into the lead in the fourth inning. Mason Stewart was hit by a pitch before Nolan Hopson reached on a grounder. After a flyout, Wilson's bunt attempt was misplayed, loading the bases. But, Sanders bounced back and struck out Brandon Henicle to end the threat."Everything felt good for me on the mound," Sanders said. "I had to keep my calm and work through the jams. I couldn't rush myself."South Central took a stranglehold on the game in the bottom half of the inning. Gunner Ray and Seidel each singled. That ended Wilson's day on the mound. Ferber quickly greeted reliever Zach Spearman with a three-run home run blast over the right field wall to boost the lead to 7-0."They made the pitching change and he came down," said Perry of his and Ferber's conversation before the at-bat. "I asked him what he was going to do if they hang a curveball. He said he was going to hit it 450 (feet). It wasn't 450, but he hit a charge into that one."Kayden Hauler reached on an error, making it to second on the play. Mitchell singled him in to make it 8-0.Hardin Northern again loaded the bases in the fifth inning, but Sanders induced a flyout off the bat of Hopson to preserve the shutout.In the bottom of the inning, Seidel singled, Ferber and Kayden Hauler walked, and Mitchell singled into left field to score two runs and end the game via run rule."We hit the ball well," Paugh said. "We just couldn't find the gaps. South Central, it seemed like they found the gap on everything they hit. At this point in the tournament, if you get the bases loaded not once, but twice and don't get any runs, that really hurts. It hurts the momentum."South Central tallied 10 hits on the day and drew six walks. The Trojans saw 117 pitches in less than five innings of hitting."We have not been (patient) all year," Perry said. "It started in the five conference games in five days. The at-bats for some reason just got a lot better. We've been feeding off of that. Their kids didn't throw hard as we've seen. We worked on sitting back and using the middle of the field."Sanders struck out five and walked just two. South Central and Plymouth split two regular-season meetings. South Central won 8-5 in Greenwich on April 12 while Plymouth won 10-3 at home on April 30.H. Northern 000 00 — 0 2 3So. Central 301 42 — 10 10 1WP: Sanders. LP: Wilson2B: (SC) Sanders. HR: (SC) Ferber