Norwalk edges Harding for fourth straight

NORWALK — The vibes feel real. Faced with five games in six days, the Norwalk baseball team opened with a frustrating 3-2 loss vs. Huron on April 7 at NHS. Five days later, that feels like a long time ago. The Truckers trailed visiting Marion Harding 2-0 after the top of the third inning of a non-league game Saturday at NHS. But Norwalk scored three times in the bottom half of the third, then put up four straight scoreless innings with pitching and defense in a 5-2 win. After the loss to Huron, the Truckers beat Willard (13-3), Sandusky (7-0), Clyde (8-0) and the Presidents (4-2) for a margin of victory of 32-5. Norwalk is now 5-2 overall before Tuesday's SBC Lake road game at Tiffin Columbian. The Truckers won seven games in 2023 and eight games last season. "I talked to Coach (Jacob) Roth early in the game and told him this isn't bad for the boys to deal with some adversity," Norwalk head coach Jason Higgins said of the 2-0 deficit in Saturday's game. "We wanted to see how they would respond. "I was real happy with how we played. Marion Harding has some real nice players. This is a good win." The Presidents manufactured a run in the top of the first with a single, sacrifice bunt and a ground out. With two outs, Harding was able to score on a passed ball for a 1-0 lead. In the third, starter Carter Harp ran into some trouble with two outs. Back-to-back singles allowed the second run to score after an errant pickoff attempt had allowed the first batter who reached to advance to second base prior to the second base hit. But in the bottom half of the frame, the Truckers' lineup, including Harp, went to work. Caiden Wilson, Isaiah Wells, and Harp each walked to load the bases with no outs. Wilson then scored on a passed ball, followed by Wesley Shupe walking to again load the bases. But after a strikeout for the second out, Landon Ferkel hit a 2-1 pitch to right that scored two runs for a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, Shupe singled and scored on an RBI double to deep right center from Kevin Howard to extend the lead to 4-2. That proved plenty for Harp and Tyler Norwood on the mound. Norwood took over in the fifth and worked around a jam. With two on and two outs, the Presidents were caught stealing third to end the threat. In the sixth, the Presidents got a leadoff single, only for Norwood to strike out two and induce a fielder's choice out. Harding again had runners on first and second with two outs, but Norwood was able to get a called third strike to end the game. Harp allowed two unearned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks in his four innings to get the win. Norwood allowed three hits in three scoreless innings, with four strikeouts and no walks. "Carter and Tyler both threw the ball well and gave us a shot," Higgins said. "We fought back. Landon and Kevin had big hits for us. We have some nice momentum and a little bit of confidence going, and we're looking forward to getting into league play next week." Harding 101 000 0 — 2 9 2Norwalk 003 010 x — 4 5 1WP: Harp; LP: Harbolt2B: (N) Howard