Indians start out strong, beat Hudson, Monroe

Solid pitching backed by good swings at the plate has Tecumseh’s varsity baseball team ahead 3-0 after opening at Hudson with a pair of wins and then picking up another victory in its home opener against Monroe.

The Indians won 7-3 in their season opening game at Hudson on Tuesday, April 12, with Jake Britt earning the pitching win. Britt pitched all seven innings of the first game, giving up zero earned runs, three hits and no walks while striking out six.

Jared Powell led Tecumseh’s offense. He hit a bases loaded triple in the third inning while Kyle Hooper hit a solo home run in the sixth inning.

“Jake pitched a very good baseball game today,” said Tecumseh coach Tom Bullinger. “He threw strikes all game and hit his spots. I was very pleased on his performance today, especially this early in the year.”

Tecumseh followed with a 7-6 victory with Kyle Hooper starting on the mound. He pitched four innings, giving up two runs on seven hits, while walking one and striking out four. He struggled with control in his season debut, hitting three of Hudson’s batters.

Caleb Armstrong came in on relief for 1 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on two hits while walking three.

Stephen Bilotta threw the last 1 2/3 innings, picking up the win by giving up one run on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

Bilotta led Tecumseh’s offense with two hits, three RBI and a two-run home run in the first inning. Jake Moore had a pair of hits and runs, while Brendan Diroff had two runs.

“We hit the ball better in the second game, but we have to have more patience at the plate,” said Tecumseh coach Tom Bullinger. “I like how we did a good job of holding off their rally in the sixth and seventh innings too.”

In its home opener on Thursday, April 14, Tecumseh defeated Monroe 15-6 with Jake Moore picking up the pitching win.

Tecumseh took a 2-0 lead in the opening inning after loading the bases and having Matt Napieralski hit a two RBI single. Monroe was able to close the inning with no further damage and then come back with a pair of runs in the second inning to tie the game 2-2.

Brendan Diroff hit a double that scored Brad Vannatter, who had been hit by a pitch to get on board the bases, for a 3-2 Tecumseh lead in the bottom of the second inning.

Monroe tied the game in the top of the third inning and sat down Tecumseh’s first three batters in the bottom of the inning.
The Trojans’ bats got the best of Moore in the top of the fourth inning after he had recorded two outs. Monroe recorded three runs for a 6-3 lead before the inning was over.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Trojans were shaken up after having their first baseman hit in the face by a one-hop line drive shot from Caleb Armstrong. Monroe’s starting pitcher Justin Caudill walked George Preston and was taken out of the game. His replacement followed by walking Diroff and hitting Jared Powell to give the Indians another run (6-4).

Stephen Bilotta tagged a double that scored two more runs to tie the game 6-6. Jacob Britt hit an RBI single for a 7-6 Tecumseh lead by the end of the long, drawn out, fourth inning.

Bilotta went in on relief to start the fifth inning. Monroe’s lead off batter singled but Moore turned a double play on the next batter to empty the bases. The top of the fifth inning ended when Monroe’s following batter hit to second base and was thrown out at first.

Tecumseh added five runs in the bottom of the inning and after Bilotta held the Trojans in the top of the sixth, Powell hit a three-run home run for the game’s final score. Bilotta pitched the top of the seventh inning and he received help by Moore and Kyle Hooper turning another double play. Monroe’s final batter was struck out looking.

“We hit the ball a lot better today,” said Bullinger. “We were patient at the plate and got ourselves in hitter's counts.”

Moore gave up eight hits and two walks while striking out six. Stephen Bilotta allowed four hits while striking out two.

Powell finished with five RBI on the day. Napieralski had two hits and 4 RBI while Diroff scored four runs and had a RBI double. Bilotta had two hits, including a double, and three RBI.

Game two was called due to darkness after four innings with Monroe leading 11-4.