Elder tops Moeller, keeps drive alive

Elder has played just four of its nine Greater Catholic League South Division baseball games, but even Moeller coach Tim Held had to admit that the Panthers are in the driver's seat for the championship race.

Elder bumped the Crusaders from behind the wheel Wednesday, squeezing out a 5-4 win at the brand-new Jack Adam Baseball Stadium at the Panther Athletic Complex.

"We don't play them anymore," said Held, whose team lost two of three against the Panthers this season. "We've got to hope somebody else gets them and we can back into the title. They're in the driver's seat. I told our guys that's not where we wanted to be leaving here."

Junior catcher Sam Hauer drove in what proved to be the winning run after making a crucial first-inning defensive play to save a run as Elder, ranked fourth in the Enquirer's Division I coaches' poll, improved to 7-4 overall and 3-1 in the league

"We know we can beat them," Hauer said of Moeller, which has won of six of the last seven GCL South Division titles and shared the other one since Elder won its last championship in 2006. "We're not afraid of them."

Senior center fielder Zach Logue had two hits and drove in two runs for No. 1 Moeller (11-2, 3-2). Both losses have been to the Panthers, sandwiched around a win over Elder on Monday.

GCL South teams play each other three times this season under a new scheduling format.

"It's still early, but it does feel good," Elder coach Mark Thompson said.

Moeller needed only three batters to take a 1-0 lead on back-to-back one-out doubles by Josh Hollander and Logue.

Elder tied the score in the second with an unearned run pushed across the plate by a bases-loaded walk of Matthew Tucker, the Panthers' No. 9 hitter.

Logue drove in Riley Mahan with a single to left field and scored from second on Kyle Dockus' infield hit to give Moeller a 3-1 lead in the third.

Elder came right back in the bottom of the inning to tie the score with back-to-back bases-loaded singles by Dominic Faillace and Zach Vorherr.

The Crusaders took their third lead of the game in the fourth on Joey Ludwig's leadoff single, T.J. Storer's sacrifice, a wild pitch and Bailey Montoya's single to left through the drawn-in Elder infield.

Elder took the lead with a two-out, two-run rally in the bottom of the inning. Brian Guck drove in Johnny Lammers with a double into the right field corner and scored on Hauer's double up the right-center field gap.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Hauer throwing out Logue trying to score to end the first inning. Austin Koch's pitch got past Hauer and rolled about 10 feet behind the plate. Hauer scrambled after the ball and his underhand flip to Koch was in time to get the sliding Logue.

STAR OF THE GAME: Hauer, who also plucked a pitch out of the dirt and threw Montoya out stealing in the sixth, saving a run after Mahan singled.

VIEW FROM THE DUGOUT: Thompson on the game: "It was ugly both ways the first few innings, but once we got the lead, we we were able to close it out."

EXTRA INNINGS: The game also served as the annual "Strike Out Cancer" game between the two teams. Two pink bats, both donated by the Riverbats and each autographed by one of the teams, were available through a silent auction, and other items were being sold with proceeds benefiting Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered (FORCE).

WP – Koch (3-2). LP – Ragland (2-1). Hitting leaders: M – Hollander 2B, Logue 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Montoya 2-3. E – Smith 2-3; Guck 2B; Hauer 2B. Records: M 11-2 (3-2, GCL-S), E 7-4 (3-1 GCL-S).