The Highland Scots and Galion Tigers entered their series tied for first place in the MOAC standings.  Following the 2 game sweep by the Scots, Highland remains alone atop the league standings with a 5-1 record.

The Scots won a closely contested game at home to keep the pressure on Galion by a 3-2 score.  Junior Caleb Youngman used his arm and his bat to help secure the win for the home team.

Youngman (3-0) threw a complete game striking out 6 Tigers while allowing 5 hits and no earned runs.  The junior stymied the Tigers offense all night and defensive miscues allowed Galion to keep the game close until the final frame.  Youngman also hit a double in the 6th inning to score the go ahead run to help the Scots stay on top of the MOAC.

Highland scored first when Branson Newsome singled and moved into scoring position on a batted ball.  Newsome would steal 2nd and score on a possessed ball to open the scoring and stake the Scots with a 1-0 lead.

The Tigers would answer in the 4th when a throwing error led to an unearned run that knotted the game at 1.

In the 6th inning, pinch hitter Brayson Adams worked a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Robby Schmidt.  Schmidt would be bunted into scoring position by a sacrifice bunt by senior Rhett Russell.  Youngman then laced a double down the left line to score Schmidt and give the host team a 2-1 lead.  An RBI by Nolan Landefeld would push the lead to 3-1.

The Tigers would continue to fight and defensive errors put the pressure back on Highland as Galion had the bases loaded and scored to get within a run.  Fittingly, Youngman induced a pop up to himself to end the game at 3-2 and preserve the win.

Jayden Collins paced the offense with 2 hits while Zach Church, Branson Newsome, Morgan Kline, Zach Underwood, and Youngman each chipped in a hit.  Schmidt, Youngman, and Newsome each scored a run.

Highland moves to 6-4 with the win.

The Highland Scots earned the right to keep the full mascot name ‘Fighting Scots’ as the visiting Highland team showed fight and grit in a hard fought 3-0 victory at Heise Park in Galion.  The game featured multiple defensive plays, good pitching, and an inordinate number of stranded base runners.  In the end, Highland was able to score 3 runs in the 7th inning and win a crucial league contest.

Highland junior Zach Underwood (2-0) was masterful in his start, going 6 strong innings while giving up 5 hits and 4 walks.  Underwood struck out 4 Tigers in his outing, and was aided by a solid defense that prevented the home team from crossing the plate.  The Scots defense was solid all night, turning two double plays and throwing out key runners at 3rd and home.  Sophomore catcher Nolan Landefeld was stellar behind the plate allowing no passed balls in the game.

The game remained scoreless through 6 innings with both teams unable to score the baserunners that threatened to score each inning.  That changed in the 7th inning when senior infielder Jayden Collins was hit by a pitch and advanced to 2nd on a single by Branson Newsome.  Zach Church was walked to load the bases for junior Morgan Kline who scored the game’s first runs with a 2 RBI single passed the 3rd baseman.  A bloop hit by centerfielder Rhett Russell cashed in an insurance run and the visiting Scots held a 3 run lead heading into the bottom half of the 7th frame.

Kline would replace Underwood in the 7th and the junior earned his first career ‘Save’ by sitting down 3 of the 4 hitters he faced.

The Fighting Scots moved to 5-1 in league play (7-4) overall as they head into the weekend with a 1 game lead over Ontario and Marion Harding in the league standings.  The Scots will head to Hillsdale on Friday before hosting Big Walnut (Monday) and playing the River Valley series.