Dawgs take down Smithies before trip to N.C.

PHOTOS BY LISA McGINTY | LMc Photography

Dalton’s Owen Beatty slides into third base during a game against Smithville.

Dalton’s Jaden Schlabach with the fly out in right field.

By ARIEL STAHLER
Gazette & News sports writer

Dalton High School’s varsity baseball team spent Spring Break under the sun in North Carolina, but before they left Ohio, they defeated Smithville in both games of a doubleheader.

The Dawgs beat Smithville 5-3 in the first game of their April 12 doubleheader.

The Smithies scored first with two runs in the top of the second inning, but Dalton countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to even the score. Smithville took a one-run lead in the third inning and held on until the bottom of the sixth. In the sixth, Dalton capitalized on some slip-ups by Smithville to score three runs and regain the lead. Kole Miller was the winning pitcher.

Dalton won 5-4 over Smithville in eight innings during the second game of the April 12 doubleheader. Jaden Schlabach scored Isaac Wengerd in the second inning for the first run of the game. This was the only run to cross the plate until the Dawgs added three runs in the top of the seventh. The Smithies responded with four runs of their own to push the game to extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, Cade Mullet singled in Schlabach to take the lead. Dalton held Smithville scoreless in the bottom of the inning to hang on for the win.

Seth Wyckoff took the win. He gave up two earned runs on two hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. He also issued three walks and recorded one strikeout.

Dalton faced some new competition during their Spring Break trip to North Carolina.

The Dawgs played The Burlington School April 15. Dalton held close for most of the game, but some late-inning pitching woes allowed Burlington to take the 15-8 win.

The Dawgs scored on an error in the first inning to take the early lead. Burlington evened the score with a run in the top of the second, but Dalton regained the lead by matching a run in the bottom of the inning. Burlington once again tied it up at 2-all in the top of the third. They added another run in the fourth to momentarily take the lead. Dalton tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fourth to put them ahead by one run. The Dawgs got into trouble in the sixth when they started to run out of pitchers. This resulted in Burlington scoring four runs. Wengerd hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. Things slipped away for Dalton in the seventh when Burlington plated eight runs.

The Dawgs scored on a passed ball and then Jack Steiner drove in two runs with a single in the seventh, but it was not enough to erase the damage from the top of the inning.

Wyckoff was given the loss. He gave up seven earned runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He issued five walks and struck out three hitters.

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