FINDLAY – Base hits aren’t the only indicator of a good appearance at the plate.
While the Fremont Ross baseball team didn’t exactly light the scoreboard on fire in the hit column, the Little Giants were patient at the plate and took advantage of the Findlay pitching staff’s control issues. Though Ross only collected three base hits Friday, the Little Giants took a 5-1 victory from the Trojans.
Cole Druckenmiller
“You look at the box score and you think, ‘How in the world?’” Ross coach Jared King said.
“Our kids took good approaches at the plate,” he said. “It was a good job of being patient and making them come to us. They really didn’t have a grasp on the zone tonight and we were patient enough to just keep moving them, even though we didn’t necessarily get those hits.”
The Little Giants forced Findlay to throw strikes and in the early going the Trojans were unable to do so, as they issued seven walks to the Little Giants, most in the earliest stages of the game.
Caleb Bennison, Tim Mosser and Noah Hotz each reached base on either a walk or being hit by a pitch to load the bases to begin the game. Cole Druckenmiller drove in a run on a fielder’s choice but and soon thereafter Josiah Cook got an RBI with another walk. Ross led 3-0 after the first inning without getting a base hit.
“For not hitting the ball all over the place, we found ways to get guys on and move them up a little bit and get those runs when we needed them,” King said.
Ross added another run in the top of the second and third innings as well for a 5-0 lead, which was more than enough with the way Cole Druckenmiller pitched on the mound.
Druckenmiller pitched all seven innings, allowing one earned run on one walk and six hits with four strikeouts.
“Cole did a very nice job,” King said. “He’s a kid who is going to be around the zone and mixing his speeds and he kept guys off balance. They hit countless balls into the air. I was very pleased with how he handled himself on the mound tonight. He never got rattled and he only threw 81 pitches.”
The win is Ross’ second in as many nights and improves the Little Giants’ record to 9-16 overall, 3-10 in the TRAC. Ross closes its season Thursday at Whitmer.