Defense sparks River View past Ridgewood

WEST LAFAYETTE — A heads-up defensive play swung the momentum into River View's favor on Saturday.

River View second baseman Ethan Jordan threw home to catcher Mark Dickerson, who tagged out Ridgewood's Trent Warden to end the Generals' threat in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Dickerson then delivered at the plate in the sixth, as his two-run single broke up a 1-all tie and propelled the Black Bears to a 4-2 victory.

River View coach Todd Liberatore applauded his players' awareness in making a key defensive play, as River View moved to 6-1 on the season.

"That is a tough play to turn, but our guys stayed in the game," he said. "They made a great play that turned the momentum in our favor."

Back-to-back one-out singles by Warden and Aiden Sparger put pressure on River View starter Orin McKee in the fifth. Jace McQueen then followed with a fielder's choice to shortstop, as Cole Greenwalt threw to Jordan for the second out at second base then Jordan threw home so Dickerson could tag Warden for the third out.

The Black Bears got to Ridgewood starter Cohen Parsons in the sixth. Trace Davis opened the frame with a double down the right field line and McKee's bunt single pit runners at the corners. After McKee stole second, Dickerson singled through the left side, bringing both home for a 3-1 lead.

Dickerson, who moved up on the throw, stole third and scored after Jordan's fly ball to right field was misplayed by the Generals.

After another error and a walk loaded the bases with no outs for the Black Bears, Ridgewood made its own defensive play. Owen Emig flew out to left, and Quincy Hains' throw to the plate was in time to retire Jordan for the second, while Greenwalt was out at second after not tagging up to complete the Generals' triple play.

The Generals (3-4) threatened in the bottom of the seventh. Hains drew a lead-off walk then Sparger walked with two outs before McQueen followed with a RBI single.

However, Davis struck out Kauelen Smith to preserve the River View win.

Ridgewood coach Chad Lahna gave credit to the Black Bears on their defensive play, but also commended his squad for overcoming adversity.

"It's still early, and we're gaining experience in different situations," Lahna noted. "We tried to get a run in an unconventional way, and their second baseman made a good throw. Our kids stuck with it and made that triple play to give us a chance.

"Two of our four losses have been by 1-run. Our kids are going to compete, and hopefully, these game reps and experience will help our productivity," he added. "Of course, we want to get wins, but we also need to keep building experience. It was a good Saturday afternoon game, and we'll fight another day."

The Black Bears had a chance to strike early. Davis doubled to lead off the second inning and Dickerson was hit with a pitch with one out, but Parsons struck out Jordan and induced a groundout from Mack Wilson to end the threat.

The Generals took advantage of their opportunity in the home half of the second. Aden Troyer and Cohen Cabot hit back-to-back singles to open the frame and Josiah Cahill drew a one-out walk to load the bases. Warden's groundout brought home Troyer then McKee fanned Sparger to end the inning.

River View tied the game at 1 in the third. Emig hit a one-out single and moved to third on a Ridgewood error on Brody Shrimplin's groundball with two outs. Davis' single scored Emig to even the game.

McKee was strong on the mound, scattering six hits, striking out five and walking two over six innings, while Davis pitched the seventh to earn the save.

McKee and Emig also had two singles apiece.

The Black Bears travel to Sheridan on Monday for a key MVL game. Liberatore has seen improvement from his squad, who went 3-0 in the opening week despite 12 combined errors in those three games.

"We've pitched well as a staff, and even with some bad defense and missed opportunities against Tri-Valley, we're in a good spot," he said. "Our defense is playing better, and we're getting timely hits. We aren't a team that will hit a lot of doubles or homers so we look to be aggressive when we get on base. We missed a few chances today, but overall, this group has grown a lot in a week. We want to keep getting better."

Parsons was solid despite taking the loss, giving up nine hits and striking out four over five-plus innings, while Kaleb Schrock threw two scoreless innings of relief.

Warden also had two singles for the Generals, who host Garaway on Monday.

Lahna has also seen growth from his squad, and their focus is to continue that improvement entering the third week of the season.

"We had opportunities early on the bases and didn't take advantage, but Cohen pitched a great game. He gave us a chance," Lahna said. "We're not an offensive juggernaut so pitching and defense has to keep us in games. This group has gotten better from last week to this week. We want to see how our kids react in different situations and build on those going forward."

Brooke (W. Va.) 5, Coshocton 1: The Redskins were limited to two singles in a non-league loss at Lake Park.

Evan Unger and Gage Wright each singled and Wright scored to highlight the offense while Gavin Mathias took the loss, giving up five runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

Softball

East Knox 10, 17, Coshocton 0, 0: The Lady 'Skins were swept by the Bulldogs, with Olivia Lee striking out three in the first game to highlight the effort.

East Knox scored nine runs in the first inning of the first game before Coshocton held them to only one unearned run in the fifth that led to the mercy.

bhannahs@gannett.com; @brandonhannahs

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Defense sparks River View past Ridgewood