Big Walnut scored five times in the first two innings and the pitching and defense took care of the rest en route to a 5-1 win over visiting Watkins Memorial Thursday in Sunbury.
Austin Becker sparked the Golden Eagle (3-0) offense with a pair of doubles to go with three RBI and a run scored. Parker Imertreis knocked in the other two runs while Jake Foster had a pair of hits and Noah Sprowls scored twice in the win.
Imertreis picked up the win on the mound, tossing four innings of two-hit, one-run ball. Henry von Hollen pitched a pair of scoreless innings in relief and Nick Dimitroff fired a 1-2-3 seventh to seal the deal.
The game featured a sibling rivalry of sorts as brothers Jack and Donnie Schone squared off for the first time as head coaches.
“Not only am I the best looking, I taught him everything he knows about baseball,” first-year Big Walnut coach Jack Schone said.
Jack, the oldest of five siblings, and Donnie, the youngest, both played baseball for Watkins Memorial.
Liberty 3, Canal Winchester 1
Four Patriot pitchers — Mitch Milheim, Ben Buehrer, Ryan Hoffman and Jack Metzger — combined on a no-hitter as Liberty handled visiting Canal Winchester Thursday in Powell.
Milheim, the starter, pitched the first two innings, striking out three and walking two. Buehrer worked the next two innings, allowing the lone run, while Hoffman pitched two and Metzger tossed a perfect seventh.
Liberty (3-1) tied things up with a run in the fourth before plating two in the sixth to smooth out the scoring summary.
Corbin Parrish led the way with a pair of hits while Hoffman, Milheim and Pete Atkinson knocked in the runs.
Delaware Christian 5, Shekinah Christian 3
Shekinah Christian scored two runs in the third to tie things up, then took a one-run lead in the fifth, but DCS bounced back with a three spot in the bottom half of the inning to post a league win Thursday in Delaware.
Ryan Manny sparked the Eagles with a double and two RBI. Dirk Harris and Adam Standley also knocked in runs.
Manny picked up the win on the mound, allowing four hits and three runs (one earned) in five innings of action. He struck out eight and walked just two. Seth Standley worked the final two innings, striking out three.
Also: Gahanna 7, Orange 4; Olentangy 6, North Union 1.
SOFTBALL
Delaware Christian picked up its first win of the season in emphatic fashion, hammering visiting Harvest Prep 23-2 in five innings Thursday in Delaware.
The Eagles scored 12 times in the first inning and never looked back.
Emily Parrish had four of DCS’s 20 hits, finishing a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored. Other standouts included Haileigh Darnell (3-for-5 with three RBI and four runs scored), Madie Morgan (2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs), Kara Haskins (2-for-3 with two runs and two knocked in), Cassidy Justice (3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI) and Annie Wallace (2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored).
Morgan picked up the complete-game win in the circle, allowing two hits and two runs while striking out 13 and walking two.
BOYS TENNIS
Jordan Phelps (6-1, 6-1), Alex Heiden (6-1, 6-0) and Kyle Brace (6-2, 6-2) picked up singles wins while Connor Wolfe and David Cavote (7-5, 6-2) and Tejas Venkatachalam and Zach Shaver (6-4, 6-0) nabbed doubles wins to lead Orange over visiting Big Walnut 5-0 Thursday in Lewis Center.
Hilliard Darby 4, Hayes 1
Craig Klumpp and Eric Puthoff earned a hard-fought win at second doubles to highlight the Pacers’ effort Thursday against the Panthers.
The duo won the first set 6-4, lost the second 6-7, but won the third 10-5 in the super tiebreaker.
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Olentangy 3, Worthington Kilbourne 0; Liberty 3, Watterson 0.