Indians’ pitchers right on target, beat Adrian, Chelsea to earn District title

Tecumseh’s varsity baseball pitchers took aim at both Adrian and Chelsea in this year’s district championships at the Maples’ home field on Saturday, May 31, to help the Indians earn the title by edging both opponents by just one run.The Indians took to the field against Adrian in the district semifinal and won 3-2 after going into an extra inning. The Indians beat Chelsea 1-0 for the title.Tecumseh won the first game with the help of the Maples, taking advantage of a wild pitch with the bases loaded to score the game-winning run.Alex Muckensturm (5 ip, 1 run, 1 earned, 2 hits, 4 BB, 7 K’s) pitched five innings of the game and held a 2-1 lead before being relieved by Nick Cowen.Cowen (2/3 ip, 1 run, 1 earned, 1 hit, 2 BB, 1 K) allowed Adrian to tie the game and was relieved by Phil Carey (2 1/3 ip, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 BB, 4 K’s), who earned the win.“Alex did a great job throwing strikes and getting out of some tough innings,” said Tecumseh coach Tom Bullinger. “Phil came in on a tough situation with a runner at third base and left him there. He then did what he does best and kept us in the game.”Tecumseh’s offense produced two hits with Ben Vannatter and Carey helping hand Adrian pitcher Matt Clark the 3-2 loss.Carey (7 ip, 0 runs, 4 hits, 1 BB, 5 K’s) went the distance on the mound in the championship final against Chelsea for a tight 1-0 victory.Carey also produced the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Cowen (2-for-3, run) reached base on a single and was driven home by a hit to center field.“Phil [Carey] was a bull dog today — going nine and two thirds innings and not giving up a run — talk about a guy not wanting his season to end. He put this team on his shoulders today and we found a way to get a run for him. I’m so proud of how he went out there today and left it on the field,” Bullinger commented.Tecumseh plays next in the regionals at Chelsea on Saturday, June 7, with an overall record of 23-13.