By Will Swary

CARROLL- Ranked No. 11 in the Prep Baseball Report Ohio state rankings for Division III, Bloom Carroll HS (20-6) began their tournament run with a dominant win 9-1 over the Grandview Heights Wildcats (6-20). Using the reliable arm of junior Jake Newton to hold down the Grandview Heights offense and striking early on offense, the Bulldogs were able to cruise to an opening tournament victory.

Newton, a 6-1 righty who’s fastball sat consistently between 77-79 mph got into his only real trouble in the top of the 1st inning when a one out double by Grandview Heights third baseman C.J. Flowers was followed by a hit by pitch to Peyton Jones and a soft single to center by Nick Peck that loaded the bases with one out in the 1st. Newton would settle himself down though, striking out the next two batters and ending the Wildcats first inning charge.

In the bottom half of the 1st inning the Bulldog’s put up seven runs, doing a games worth of damage in getting to Grandview Heights starting pitcher Oliver Rowel.  The trouble started early for Rowel, who after giving up opening singles to Levi Fetherolf and Josh Gabbard , surrendered a three run home run to talented Bloom Carroll catcher Jared Peters. An error, a single, and a walk to the next three batters would load the bases again, giving way to a one out single by Jimmy Ruffner that plated two. Two more singles in the inning by Cody Seagraves and Fetherolf would score two more runs, totaling seven and giving Bloom Carroll a commanding lead after an inning of play.

The lead would appear more daunting, because after a rocky first inning Jake Newton settled into a groove and  started to go after the Grandview Heights lineup, allowing just three more base runners through his remaining five innings, on his way to striking out nine batters for the game.

Bloom Carroll added two more runs in the bottom half of the 2nd inning on a two run blast over the left center wall by senior Benn Kerr. The Bulldog’s used their nine run advantage after two to lean on the Wildcats who were unable to muster a run until the 6th on an error by the third baseman when the game was out of doubt.

Bloom Carroll advances in the OHSAA division III tournament to play Howard East Knox on Monday, May 14 at Columbus DeSales HS. Game time is 5pm.