By Chris Webb

Division I Lakota East (23-7) 6, Perrysburg (26-4) 2

In the first State Championship game played Saturday morning, Lakota East captured their first championship in school history with a 6 to 2 win over #5 Perrysburg.

Right-handed pitcher Evan Hills showed why he signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Coach Cleary and become a Cincinnati Bearcat next year by finishing his senior season 9-3 with a complete game victory. Ten Perrysburg hits were scattered over the seven innings, but they left ten men on base as Hills and the Thunderhawks provided timely defense. Through 118 pitches, Hills walked two and struck out seven.

Lakota East provided Hills with run support early, as a two-out two-RBI single in the second by left fielder Zak Kloenne pushed the southwestern Ohio school out in front. For the game, Kloenne finished two-for-three with a run scored and the two RBI.

Perrysburg threatened in the third with back-to-back two-out singles before Hills forced three-hole-hitting pitcher Matt Kruzel to ground out. Though Lakota East scored when they next came to bat in the top of the fourth, both Hills and Kruzel would cruised through the middle innings.

In the seventh inning, Lakota East scored three insurance runs, which provided added comfort in the bottom of the inning. Kruzel, who suffered his first loss of 2011 in nine decisions, was relieved by Alex Williams with one out in the sixth.

Against the new pitcher, Kloenne led off the seventh with a double, scoring on a one-out fielder?s choice by Jesse Rait.  An Alex Corna single loaded the bases before Mitch Geers? RBI-walk, and Blake Wilder?s RBI-HBP plated the fifth and sixth runs to cap the scoring.

In the bottom of the frame, Perrysburg put together a frantic rally in their last at-bat of the year. A single, walk, and a double would lead to one run. Back-to-back fly outs to center advanced and plated Kevin Schenk. Eventually the final out was recorded on a ground out to second basemen Craig Thompson, which stranded two Perrysburg runners.

On the mound, Kruzel finished with five strikeouts in the 5.1 IP, allowing three runs off five hits and four base-on-balls.  At the plate, Kruzel finished two-for-four, as did Toledo-signee second baseman Alec Schmenk and catcher Zach Kolvery. Williams allowed three runs, one earned, off two hits over the final five outs.

For Lakota East, Kloenne?s two hits led the team and two RBI led the team, while Thompson?s two runs paced the squad.