West Union southpaw Jared Fenton fired a complete game four-hitter as the Dragons downed Eastern Brown 9-2 on April 17.

Fenton fires complete game behind nine-hit attack  – 

By Mark Carpenter – 

Coach Joe Kramer and his West Union Dragons varsity baseball squad remained perfect for the 2018 season, after traveling to Eastern Brown on Tuesday and handing the host Warriors a 9-2 defeat in a Southern Hills Athletic Conference contest played in a biting wind accompanied by sunshine.

Taking the throw from catcher Dylan Grooms, West Union second baseman Michael Carson puts the tag on Eastern’s Michael Schmid for a caught stealing in the first inning of Tuesday’s game.

With the win, the Dragons improved to 6-0 on the spring, and an identical 6-0 in conference play, going into a SHAC showdown with undefeated Whiteoak on Wednesday afternoon. At Eastern, West Union banged out nine hits, with every starter reaching base at least one time. Brandan Cornell and Jared Fenton, the team’s 3-4 hitters, each drove home two runs while Fenton threw a complete game for the win, allowing just four hits and striking out five. It was Fenton’s third complete game in as many outings as he now stands 3-0 on the season.

If Coach Kramer was managing a team in the major leagues, he would be considered a bit unconventional, as his starters have now thrown six complete games in as many tries, but on Tuesday, the West Union head man was happy with the defense behind his starting pitcher. “Our defense today was very good,” said Kramer. “With potential scoring runner son base, Brandan (Cornell) made a nice short hop pick up of a line drive to get a force out that ended an inning.

Michael Carson made a nice running catch in short right field to end an inning, and Brandon Blevins chased down a deep drive in right field.” Both teams went scoreless for the first two innings, but the Dragons broke things open with three runs in the top of the third, and three more in the top of the fourth to take a 6-0 advantage. Eastern got one run back in their half of the fourth but West union responded with one in the fifth and two in the sixth to go up 9-1.

West Union’s Brandon Blevins uproots the bag and slides safely into third base in action from the Dragons’ 9-2 win at Eastern Brown on Tuesday.

The Warriors scored once in the bottom of the sixth, but Fenton set the home team down in order in the bottom of the seventh to finish off his team’s sixth victory of the spring. “The team is having lots of fun playing these games and continue to build confidence in themselves and confidence in their teammates to win games,” said Kramer. On Wednesday, the Dragons faced their toughest task of their early season as they traveled to Whiteoak to face the 11-0 Wildcats in what should be a very entertaining affair.

Coach Kramer has slated Brandan Cornell as his starting pitcher, and the junior right hander goes into the game with a perfect 2-0 mark. Look for a full report on the match up in the upcoming weekend edition of The People’s Defender.

West Union

003 312 0 —9

Eastern Brown

000 101 0 —2

W. Union Hitting (AB-R-H-RBI): Blevins 2-1-0-0, Carson 3-0-1-0, Cornell 5-3-2-2, Fenton 4-0-2-2, D. Grooms 3-1-0-1, Hirsch 5-1-3-1, McCarty 3-0-0-0, Rothwell 4-2-0-0, Staten 1-0-0-0, Stephenson 2-1-1-1, Team 32-9-9-7.

Extra-Base Hits: Cornell 2B (2)

E. Brown Hitting (AB-R-H-RBI): Wolfe 1-1-0-0, Schmid 3-0-1-0, Kelley 3-0-0-0, Ruckel 4-0-0-0, Vargas 3-0-0-0, Wiles 4-0-0-0, Vaughn 3-1-1-0, Broughton 2-0-2-2,Bellamy 2-0-0-0, Team 25-2-4-2.

W. Union Pitching:

Fenton (W) 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, 119 pitches

E. Brown Pitching:

Schmid (L) 4 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 92 pitches

Vargas 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 48 pitches