By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian High School baseball team had its way with Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth when the squads squared off twice since Wednesday, April 25.
Adrian exploded offensively by slapping 15 hits during a 25-0 victory in a game that ended after four and one-half innings of play due to the 10-run rule in Adrian April 25.
The Dragons scored 13 runs in their final three innings of a 14-1 win over the Patriots in Hills Monday.
After a scoreless first inning, Adrian scored five runs in the bottom of the second, 13 in the third and seven in the fourth during the 25-0 win April 25.
Derek Vastenhout (three hits and six RBIs), Jake Salter (three hits and three RBIs) and Dusty Henning (two hits and five RBIs) led Adrian's offensive assault.
Mark Kroon and Tannar Heronimus pitched a combined three-hit shutout for AHS. Kroon tossed the first three innings to gain the victory.
Steve Swayze, Paul Jess and Darin DeBoer all singled for H-BC-E. Justin Van Maanen took the loss on the mound.
Monday's game in Hills was deadlocked at one through four innings of play before Adrian plated 13 runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to win by 13.
Pete Hohn gave Adrian the lead for good when his two-run single in the top of the fifth made it a 3-1 game.
Two-run doubles by Jake Salter and Tyler Wolf increased Adrian's lead to six runs (7-1) in the sixth.
Adrian put the game away with a seven-run seventh inning. Dusty Henning supplied the big blow of the frame when he doubled home three runs. Joe Kruger, Seth Bullerman, Tannar Heronimus and Matt Eickhoff all added run-scoring singles during the inning.
Heronimus scored the first run of the game in the top of the third on a passed ball. H-BC-E countered with a run in the bottom of the third when Lee Jackson reached base with a single, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch.
Mark Kroon tossed three and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief to pick up the pitching win for AHS. Wolf yielded one run in the first two and one-third innings, and Kruger pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
David Top took the loss for H-BC-E, which received a two-hit performance from Matt Buck.