By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES – A six-run fourth inning broke open a close contest Wednesday afternoon and led No. 1 ranked Brandywine to a 12-2 victory over visiting Dowagiac.
The Bobcats (14-1) scored 11 of its 12 runs in the final three innings of the contest that was stopped after six frames by the mercy rule.
Dowagiac grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first inning only to have the Bobcats come back and tie the game in the bottom of the frame.
The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning when Brandywine exploded for six runs.
The Bobcats added two runs in the fifth and then three runs in the sixth to take the victory.
Dowagiac's second run came in the top of the fifth on a solo home run by Jamie Simpson.
Brandywine's Taylor Ort tossed a three-hitter at the Chieftains to earn the victory.
Tanner Melvin worked into the fourth inning and took the loss. Simpson came on in the fourth and was replaced by Jason Fryman in the fifth inning.
Brandywine finished with 15 hits off the three Chieftain pitchers.
Cam Ondresky, Dan Reidenbach and Mikel Lindzy all doubled for the Bobcats.
Shane Bankston, Noah Udell, Ondresky, Jesse McCombs and Reidenbach all finished with two hits.
Dowagiac's other two hits came from Tim DeRyder and Troy Stover.
"Tanner Melvin did his job on the mound going four and two-third innings," Dowagiac coach Andy Kruger said. "It went down hill from there. We made some crucial errors and gave up four runs with two outs. I am very disappointed with our play on defense.
"Offensively we were stale with only three hits. We beat ourselves. We need to find our groove and get people comfortable in the right positions. A couple of our starting pitchers will be back in action soon from injuries."
Dowagiac will take on Comstock on Friday in a key Wolverine Conference doubleheader at Rotary Park.
The Bobcats return to action on Saturday when they host Niles and Schoolcraft for a round robin tournament.
Brandywine, which suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday against defending Lakeland Conference champion Berrien Springs, will complete the second game of the doubleheader on May 5.
"It was nice to bounce back from a tough day on Tuesday," Brandywine coach David Sidenbender said. "Taylor Ort pitched extremely well which went a long way to getting us back on track. I was also happy with the way we put the ball in play. As long as we stay aggressive and keep attacking, I think we will continue to have success."
Dowagiac 100 001 – 2 3 8
Brandywine 100 623 – 12 15 1
WP – Taylor Ort (B, 4-0) and Cam Ondresky
LP – Tanner Melvin (D, 2-1), Jamie Simpson (4), Jason Fryman (5) and Jake Kling
2B: Ondresky (B), Dan Reidenbach (B), Mikel Lindzy (B)
HR: Simpson (D)
Record
Dowagiac 10-6; Brandywine 14-1