GALION — The matchup was set for Friday evening to determine which team would make it out of the Division IV, Galion District in high school baseball.
In the championship contest, it would be a clash of familiar foes as the No. 1 seeded Mohawk Warriors faced the No. 2 seeded Colonel Crawford Eagles. Both members of the Northern-10 Athletic Conference, the two squads split their season series and traveled to Galion for the rubber match with a district championship title hanging in the balance.
The Eagles stepped in first and would plate a lone run in the top of the first and proceed to hold their opponent scoreless. Crawford would strike yet again in the second frame, this time plating a pair of runs and extending their lead to 3-0 after two in the books.
While Gavin Feichtner continued to shutdown the Mohawk bats, the Colonel Crawford offense truly came alive in the top of the third inning. In that third, the Eagles would see five baserunners come around to score to blow the game wide open at 8-0 after three. Mohawk would go quietly yet again in the third and after shutting down the Eagles offensive onslaught in the fourth, would score their first and only run of the contest as Crawford cruised the remainder of the contest to earn their first district championship in 54 years; 8-1.
With the victory, not only do the Eagles punch their ticket to the regional semifinals and the Sweet 16, they also picked up their 22nd win of the season, tying a school record.
Feichtner was lights out on the hill for Crawford, working the entire 7 innings while scattering just two hits, allowing one earned run, walking three and striking out 14 Warriors’ hitters. At the dish, Feichtner helped his cause with a pair of singles, two runs batted in and a stolen base.
In total, Colonel Crawford scored their eight runs on a dozen hits, all singles, while stranding nine on the bases and committing one error defensively. Mohawk had just a single and a double in the contest en route to their lone run, stranded five on the base path and committed three total miscues in the field of play.
Cade Hamilton finished with a three-hit afternoon for the Eagles, all singles, while scoring a pair of runs and driving in another. Trevin Fairchild and Carson Feichtner also had multi-hit games, racking up a pair of singles apiece while Fairchild also collected two RBI and a stolen base.
Other offense for Crawford provided by: Daylen Balliet- 1B, R; Drayton Burkhart- 1B, R; Dylan Cooke- R; Brock Ritzhaupt- 1B, 2R, RBI and Caleb Lohr- R.
The Eagles will now be in action in regional semifinals play against the winner of the Bryan District, the Antwerp Archers on Thursday, May 30 at 2 p.m. at Patrick Henry High School in Hamler.
