Fast start lifts Raiders over Indian Lake

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Attempting to rally against Benjamin Logan’s hard throwing Jeremiah Kerns is not an easy task for the opposition.

“Coming into the game we knew runs were going to be tough to come by against Jeremiah,” said Indian Lake head coach Brian Tidwell after the Lakers’ 6-2 loss to the host Raiders on Tuesday in a Division II sectional tournament game. “It’s tough when you have to try to come back when he’s on the mound.”

The Raiders jumped out to a 6-2 lead after three innings and Kerns then shut down Indian Lake the rest of the way.

With the win, the Raiders are now 16-8 and advance to play at Urbana on Thursday in a sectional semifinal. The Lakers finish the season at 13-10.

Kerns struck out 11 and walked four while only giving up two hits. The two Indian Lake hits came on a pair of RBI doubles by Michael Morgan.

“Jeremiah didn’t throw many curveballs,” said Ben Logan head coach Doug Rutan. “We just wanted him to make them put the ball in play. I thought he got better as the game went on.”

The starting pitching matchup between Kerns and Indian Lake’s Kendall Lewis was the second time the two pitchers faced each other this season. In the regular-season contest between the two standouts, they each went eight scoreless innings in a game that Ben Logan eventually won 1-0 in nine innings.

Monday’s game got off to a much different start as four runs were scored in the opening frame.

In the top of the first, Morgan ripped a one-out double to score Kaeleb Draper, who had reached on a walk. That gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead.

Ben Logan responded with a three-run outburst in the bottom of the first. Logan Conley had a two-run single and Conley later scored on a wild pitch as the Raiders took a 3-1 lead.

“Coming back and getting those three runs was really big,” said Rutan. “To jump right back after they scored a run in the top of the inning gave our kids a lot of confidence.”

The third inning was a repeat of the first, with the Lakers scoring one run in the top of the frame and the Raiders putting three on the board in the bottom of the inning.

Morgan’s two-out RBI double in the top of the third scored Tyler Maddox, pulling Indian Lake to within a run at 3-2.

But the Raiders quickly widened their lead in the bottom of the inning. Conley again came up with the big hit. With one out, he lined a tworun single to center to make the score 5-2. Conley later scored on a throwing error to give Ben Logan a 6-2 lead.

“Logan has been hitting the ball well all year,” said Rutan. “Really, our entire lineup has been making good contact over the last couple of weeks.”

Neither team was able to do any more damage the rest of the way. Morgan came on in relief for the Lakers in the fourth and allowed just one hit while striking out five.

“I thought Mike had a very nice game,” said Tidwell. “He had a couple of big hits and he pitched well, too.”

In addition to seeing the season come to an end, Tidwell had to say goodbye to Morgan and several other valuable seniors.

“I want to thank those guys,” said the Laker head coach. “They have been the cornerstone of getting the program turned around. They helped us beat some very good teams this year.”

BEN LOGAN 6 — INDIAN LAKE 2
Lakers 101 000 0 — 2 2 2 — Raiders 303 000 X — 6 5 0
Lewis, Morgan (4) and Yanchik; J. Kerns and Barnes. WP—J. Kerns; LP—Lewis.

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