SHELBY — Kaden Riddle let his defense do the heavy lifting.
A senior right-hander, Riddle surrendered just three hits as Clear Fork cruised to a 5-0 win over Shelby in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference baseball action on a cold, wet and blustery Wednesday afternoon at Shelby High School.
Riddle wasn’t overpowering — he struck out six in six innings of work — but benefitted from a defense that committed just one error on a day when gusty winds and slick turf made fielding every ball an adventure.
“It was pretty cold out here and the conditions weren’t the best, but I was just trying to get ahead of the hitters and let the defense work,” said Riddle, who improved to 5-0 and lowered his earned run average to a microscopic 0.41. “It’s always nice as a pitcher to be able to rely on your defense.”
Clear Fork (15-2, 10-1) gave Riddle all the run support he would need in the top of the fourth.
Riddle was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and moved to second on Dawson Staley’s sacrifice bunt. Kasey Swank drew a walk and Garrett Hotz singled to right to load the bases. Nate Lind’s suicide squeeze bunt plated Riddle with the first run before Ty Sellers stroked a two-run single to center to make it 3-0. Mason Sansom followed with a single to right that was misplayed for a two-base error, allowing Sellers to score all the way from first.
“We made mistakes and they made us pay. We didn’t make them pay for their mistakes,” Shelby coach Jon Amicone said. “They did a nice job letting our mistakes snow-ball and that’s what good teams do.”
The four runs were more than enough for Riddle. He worked around a pair of walks in the home half of the fourth before retiring six of the final eight hitters he faced.
“These elements weren’t easy, but Kaden was tough,” first-year Clear Fork coach Gabe Kennedy said. “He worked ahead in the count and the defense made plays behind him.”
The Colts added a run in the top of the seventh on Staley’s sacrifice fly off Shelby starter Nic Eyster. The sophomore right-hander went the distance, allowing seven hits and striking out two.
“Nic battled for seven innings,” Amicone said. “He was able to throw a couple different pitches for strikes. The bottom line is we’ve got to make plays.”
Luke Schlosser led the Colts with three hits. Riddle, Hotz, Lind and Sellers each had a base hit.
Eyster, Elijah Schwemley and Kamdyn Wheeler all had a hit for Shelby (10-6, 5-6).
The two teams will meet again Thursday at Clear Fork.
“The schedule doesn’t get any easier,” Kennedy said. “Shelby is a good baseball team and they’re going to be ready tomorrow.”
