Tigers advance in tourney with win over Vinton County

The McClain Tigers varsity baseball team got their first tournament win since 2019 with a 12-6 victory over Vinton County Monday night on Tom Hixson Field in Greenfield.

McClain scored six runs on seven hits in the fifth inning to basically put the game away. The Tiger bats were blazing most of the game when they totaled 13 hits that included six players with multiple-hit performances.

Pitching was also huge in the victory for McClain, with starter Cohen Six and freshman reliever Benny Vangundy surrendering just six runs on eight hits, with four runs coming in the Vikings’ last two plate appearances.

“Cohen (Six) and Benny (Vangundy) both did a great job pitching tonight, keeping the ball down and hitting their spots and making hitters work,” McClain coach Keith Penwell said.

Vinton County led early, scoring single runs in the first and second innings for a 2-0 advantage, until McClain answered with two runs in the bottom of the second when they tied the game on RBI singles by Connoor McCune and Andrew Potts.

The score remained tied 2-2 until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Tigers took their first lead of the contest on an RBI off the bat of Seth Weller that scored Vangundy.

McClain dodged a bullet in the top of the fifth when the Vikings loaded the bases with only one out, but Cohen Six was able to get out of the frame by striking out a batter and getting a great running catch on a line drive in the right field gap by Owen Sykes to leave the bases loaded.

The Tigers blew the game open in the aforementioned fifth inning when they scored the six runs. McClain’s senior catcher Jayden Allison had two hits in the inning when the Tigers batted around, sending 11 batters to the plate.

“I thought we were getting runners on base and in scoring position early in the game but just couldn’t get a key hit. But then there in the fifth inning, we had multiple big hits and hit the ball hard and kept the ball down, which is what we’ve been working a lot on, keeping the ball out of the air,” said Penwell. “Pop-ups are easy outs, and nine or 10 of them in a game is three innings’ worth.

“I thought we did a good job tonight of hitting line drives and hard ground balls, making Vinton County make plays, and that led to a lot of runs for us.”

Easton Ary, Weller and Six all had run-scoring singles, and senior third baseman Andrew Potts connected on a two-run double to highlight the inning.

In the top of the sixth inning, Vinton County got their first two batters on base, and the McClain coaching staff opted to lift starting pitcher Cohen Six for Vangundy. Six had pitched very well after giving up those two early runs, surrendering just five hits over the first five innings.

The Vikings did manage to draw a little closer in the sixth, scoring a pair of runs on just one hit, but took advantage of a McClain throwing error and a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt to cut the Tiger lead to 9-4.

McClain answered the Vinton County rally in the bottom of the sixth when they added three big insurance runs, with Potts getting his second hit of the game and third RBI. 

Vinton County was able to push across a couple more runs in the top of the seventh on a pair of hits, but it wasn’t enough, as the Tigers held on for the 12-6 sectional win.

It was McClain’s first tournament win since 2019 when they defeated Miami Trace on the road.

“Defensively, I thought we made plays even though we had a couple of errant throws, but overall it was a great team win,” Penwell said. “Our outfield was really good. Seth (Weller) does a great job in center and can cover gap to gap, then Owen (Sykes) made a great play going into the gap in a crucial situation with the bases loaded and two outs.

“Eli Douglas another outfielder for us has come a long way, too. I’m just super proud of how all of them play out there.

“You’ve got to play the game; baseball is a funny game,” Penwell continued. “A few key hits here make the routine plays, but you just never know.”

Leading batters for McClain: Andrew Potts 2-for-5, double, 3 RBIs, run; Seth Weller 2-for-4, RBI, 1 run; Jayden Allison 2-for-4, run; Kaden Penwell 2-for-4, run; Connor McCune 2-for-3, RBI, 3 runs; Easton Ary 2-for-3, RBI, run.

McClain travels to New Lexington Wednesday, May 15 for their next tournament game starting at 5 p.m.

“I know New Lexington will be a tough competitor for us, but I think our guys are ready for the challenge, and they’ll compete,” Penwell said.

Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.