Smith sparks Norwalk to first win

BELLEVUE — The Norwalk baseball team plated a run in the top of the sixth inning to leave Bellevue with a 2-1 victory on Thursday in the SBC Lake Division opener at Robert Peters Park. Senior Cooper Smith allowed just one unearned run in the third inning on two hits in a complete-game victory on the mound for the Truckers (1-2, 1-0). He struck out 10 and pitched around six walks. Norwalk scored in the top of the first, as Bray Malson drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on an RBI single by Smith. In the sixth, Malson reached on an error and was sacrifice bunted over to second by Ben Rothhaar. Smith then struck a hard-hit ground ball toward short that was misplayed, allowing Malson — running on two outs and two strikes — to come around for the game-winning run. "Cooper wants the ball in big games and is proving he can handle the pressure," Norwalk head coach Jason Higgins said after he earned his first win at his alma mater. "Coach (Chris) Jackson called a great game, Cooper executed — and his defense played confidently behind him." Nick Lukac and Carter Harp had the other two hits for Norwalk, which is scheduled to visit Tiffin Columbian on Friday and host Ontario for a doubleheader on Saturday. Norwalk 100 001 0 — 2 5 2 Bellevue 001 000 0 — 1 2 3 WP: Smith; LP: Ray. Calvert 11, St. Paul 4 NORWALK — The Senecas jumped out to a 10-1 lead after three innings in Thursday's non-league win over the Flyers at Norwalk Area Contractors Park. Drew Kuhnle doubled and drove in two of St. Paul's runs in the fifth inning, while Thomas Zuccaro tripled and scored two runs. Also for the Flyers (1-2), Kole Maxwell was 2 for 3 with an RBI, with Alex Weaver and Landon Fries each adding singles. Ashton Stang started and went the first two 2/3 innings, allowing six earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and three walks. Gavin Thurston followed, allowing three earned runs on three hits in 1 1/3 innings. Dan Schwan then went the final three innings, allowing one earned run on two hits with two strikeouts. "Calvert is a good team with a lot of experience," St. Paul head coach Aaron Fries said. "They jumped on us early and did a nice job of pushing out their lead. They threw quality arms at us all night, which made it tough to come back from such a deficit. "I'm proud of the kids, as they could have easily packed it in, but they kept fighting, and we saw some real positives to build on in the later innings." Calvert 235 000 1 — 11 12 0 St. Paul 001 030 0 — 4 6 01 WP: Otterbacher; LP: Stang. 2B: (TC) Johnson, Otterbacher; (SP) Kuhnle; 3B: (SP) Zuccaro. Willard 5, Crestview 4 WILLARD — The Crimson Flashes scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to improve to 3-0 this week following Thursday's non-league win over the Cougars. Elijah Reed singled and drove in a pair of runs for Willard, while Ethan Rodriguez and Carson Cinniger each finished with two hits. Ryan Fox and Jandyel Salazar added singles. Isaac Robinson went the first five innings for the Flashes. He allowed four unearned runs on three hits with nine strikeouts and one walk. Rodriguez went the final two innings with a pair of strikeouts and a walk. Crestview 100 030 0 — 4 3 2 Willard 200 201 x — 5 7 3 WP: Rodriguez; LP: M. Ringler 2B: (CV) Volz Seneca East 4, So. Central 0 ATTICA — The Trojans fell behind 3-0 in the first inning and did not recover in a non-league loss to the Tigers on Thursday. Eric Sanders, Karl Ferber, Bryan Chaffee and Seth Kocher each singled for South Central (0-1). Aaron Hauler started and went the first four innings for the Trojans. He allowed three earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Troy Ayers went the final two scoreless and hitless innings. So. Central 000 000 0 — 0 4 2 Seneca East 301 000 x — 4 6 0 WP: Skeel; LP: Hauler