Effingham 12s Win, Lose Friday at Ohio Valley Regional

The Effingham 12-Year-Old Babe Ruth baseball team cruised to a win in their first of two games Friday at the Ohio Valley Regional Tournament, but suffered their first loss Friday evening.

After a 15-0 drubbing of Kentucky St. Matthews Thursday, the Effingham 12s continued the onslaught with a 12-0 win over Schereville, Indiana Friday afternoon.  However, the 12s lost to Janesville, Wisconsin, 10-6 Friday evening.  That leaves the squad as one of four with a 2-1 record at the end of pool play.  The tournament will continue with single-elimination play today and the championship on Sunday.

In the win over Schererville, Effingham took a 3-0 lead in the first and extended the advantage to 8-0 with a five-run third before ending the contest with four runs in the fourth.

In the first, Brett Koester walked to lead off the game and Mason Hull singled to center.  With one out, Drew Gibson doubled to center to score Koester.  Lee Hardiek walked and then Ryan Sandifer singled to center, scoring Hull and Gibson to make it 3-0. 

In the third, Cody Jansen walked to lead off the inning.  With one out, Lee Hardiek singled and then Sandifer tripled to center, scoring Jansen and Hardiek.  Cody Grove worked a walk and Callaway Campton reached on an error, allowing Sandifer to score.  Adam Levitt then doubled to right, scoring Grove and Campton.  

In the fourth, Hull doubled to left to open the inning and then both Jansen and Gibson walked to load the bases.  Hardiek then doubled to left, scoring Hull and Jansen.  Sandifer followed with a double of his own, plating scoring Gibson and Hardiek, leading to Effingham's second straight win in four innings.

Lee Hardiek pitched the first two innings and got the win, allowing no hits or walks and striking out two.  Brett Koester pitched the final two innings, giving up two hits and a walk and hitting a batter while striking out one.

At the plate for Effingham: Koester 1 for 2 with a walk and run scored; Hull 2 for 3 with two runs scored; Jansen 0 for 1 with two walks and two runs scored; Gibson 1 for 2 with a walk and two runs scored; Hardiek 2 for 2 with a walk, two runs scored and two runs driven in; Sandifer 3 for 3 with a run scored and six runs batted in; Grove walked and scored; Campton reached on an error and scored; Levitt 1 to 3 with two RBI; Alec Morrissey 1 for 2

Effingham fell behind early in the second game as Janesville scored four runs in the first.  Effingham bounced back with three in the second to make it 4-3, but Janesville scored six more times in the second to lead 10-3.  Effingham scored three more runs in the fifth but that ended the scoring.

Cody Jansen took the loss for Effingham, allowing eight runs on eight hits and a walk with one strikeout in 1-1/3 innings of work; Cody Grove pitched the final 3-2/3 innings, allowing two runs, one earned on four hits while walking none and fanning one. 

At the plate for the Effingham 12s: Hull reached and scored; Jansen doubled and walked and scored; Gibson singled twice, scored and drove in a run; Sandifer doubled and walked and scored; Grove doubled and singled, scored and drove in a run; Campton singled and drove in a run; Levitt singled and walked, scored a run and drove in two runs; Morrissey walked and forced in a run.