Delayed victory

The first night game of the season at Runkle-Miller Field lasted nearly as long as Saturday’s doubleheader. The result was worth the wait for the Rockets.
Stopped by two lightning delays, Portland got strong efforts from three of its top starting pitchers and Zach Tanner’s fourth home run sparked the offense in a three-hour-40-minute, 7-4 win Tuesday over the Ohio Warhawks.
The Rockets went 1-2 against Ohio last season, losing back-to-back games by a combined score of 27 before going on a run that ended at the National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series.
“Last year they beat us and they weren’t as good,” said Tanner, a Wright State University graduate. “This year they had a about 90 from every guy who was on the mound. They were twice as good this year as they were last year. …
“But you saw how we played against the Dayton Docs and the Grand Lake Mariners. We can play with the best of them. … It’s a good team win.”
Portland (5-4-1) led 2-1 when the game restarted after the second half-hour rain delay before Tanner’s home run broke it open.
With one run already across the plate and Logan Hug and Mitch Waters on base after back-to-back singles, Tanner hit a towering fly ball off of Ohio reliever Nick Stroud. The shot just kept on going and cleared the fence in right-center field to give the Rockets a 6-1 lead.
“That’s the difference in the ball game,” said Portland manager Randy Miller. “It gave our pitchers some breathing room.
“(Tanner) is just a strong kid. If you make a mistake, he knows what to do with it. …
“He’s experienced, and he will make a pitcher pay.”
Travis Gray, who entered the game as a pinch runner after Chris Miller was hit by a pitch, capped the Rockets’ scoring in the fifth when he crossed the plate on a double by Jay County High School graduate Thomas McCowan.
The Warhawks (0-1) scored three times in the eighth inning to cut their deficit in half, but Tyler Reynolds recorded the final two outs of the frame and tossed a one-two-three ninth for the save.
Reynolds, who tossed four no-hit innings in a win Saturday over Brandt Harley, teamed with fellow starters Dan Bollenbacher (South Adams) and Waters (Jay County) to hold off the Ohio offense.
Bollenbacher bridged the first rain delay, limiting the Warhawks to one run on four hits in four innings. Waters was in trouble twice with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and two runners on and no one out in the sixth, but worked out of both jams.
“That’s two really strong outings in a row,” said Miller of Bollenbacher. “He threw four no-hit innings against (the Grand Lake Mariners) … He was pretty stellar.
“(Waters) works fast. He’s efficient. He pitches well in traffic. He’s not flabbergasted out there. Mitch is a competitor and he’s going to find a way to win.”
Bollenbacher, Waters, Reynolds and Gray (three earned runs) combined to strike out 10 batters.
Portland’s first two runs scored in the second inning when Nick Hollowell led off with a double and Chris Miller followed with a single. A McCowan ground out scored Hollowell, and an error brought Miller home.
Hug was the only Rocket with multiple hits off of the hard-throwing Ohio pitching staff as he finished 2-for-3 with a sacrifice bunt and a run. Chris Miller singled, was hit by a pitch twice and scored a run.
The Warhawks got a strong effort from the bottom of the order with No. 7 hitter Charles Leblanc going 3-for-5 with two runs, and Junger added two hits, two RBIs and a run from the No. 9 slot.
Tyler Jack took the loss, allowing two runs — one earned — on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.
“We average four losses a year, and it seems like every year one of them is at this place.,” said Ohio manager Ron Slusher, noting that his team of top-level high school prospects from across the United States and Canada can learn from playing a veteran team like the Rockets. “It helps our kids out tremendously.
“It’s always nice to face Portland. it’s just a great place to come, great atmosphere. There are great people here.”[[In-content Ad]]