Heilman, Rams shut out Warriors in N10 showdown

SYCAMORE – Behind a strong pitching performance from Josh Heilman and some timely hitting, Upper Sandusky went to Mohawk and came away with a big 5-0 N10 win Tuesday.With the win, the Rams (10-2, 8-1 N10) took the league lead as the Warriors (12-3, 6-2 N10) are now second place, at least temporarily."We played well, considering the conditions," Upper Sandusky coach Jerry Smalley said. "We hit a lot of ground balls, and with missing one of our starters, it was a good win."While the Rams got an early lead, the back-to-back insurance runs came in the sixth inning. Justin Heilman whacked the ball on a line drive to right field, and then stole second base on a ball call. From there, Kaleb Francis tattooed a ground ball that went a little bit past Kaden Bish at third, and Justin Heilman did a little jump to reach the base. Justin Heilman made his move when Kasen Gottfried hit a sacrifice fly out to left field and got an RBI.Josh Heilman earned himself an RBI when he smacked the ball on a line drive to left field, and Francis came sprinting into home plate.The Warriors had a chance to score a run in the seventh inning, when the bases were loaded, with a walk from Braylan Mullholland on third, Lance Frankart on second, and Levi Tiell on first. Unfortunately, Kaleb Bish's line drive got into Francis's glove."Credit to Upper Sandusky," Mohawk coach Zack Hawkins said. "They are well coached and they made some plays. They had some two-out hits that extended the lead and that brought runs in."The trouble for Mohawk began at the start of the game.Elias Magallanes walked Francis, and Francis then stole second base before Josh Heilman hit a ground ball out to the shortstop. David Gibson, the No. 3 hitter earned the first RBI of the night when he smacked a ground ball out to right field and Francis scored.The only play the Warriors got in that inning was when Owen Patrizi reached first base on an error of a dropped third strike. He tried to steal second base when Hunter Haynes grounded into a fielder's choice, but Francis threw the ball to Justin Heilman at second base, who then tagged out Patrizi.One glaring mistake that gave Upper Sandusky the upper hand in the second inning was when the Rams scored on a balk, and that allowed for Caine Rupe to walk to home plate.Josh Heilman gave up five hits and zero runs over the seven innings, striking out eight, and only walking two.Magallanes pitched for six innings, surrendered five runs on 11 hits, struck out five, and walked two."We knew if we hit the balls up in the air, they were just going to hang there with the wind." Smalley said. "That's why we hit a lot of ground balls."While it was a tough battle between the rival teams, tonight will not be any easier. The teams will meet up once again, in Upper Sandusky, to see who will walk away with the victory."That was the message that I gave to the kids," Hawkins said. "I totally expect the kids to respond tomorrow night, and hopefully we can tie it back up once again."For Upper Sandusky, the message is clear from Smalley."We are at home tomorrow. We are first place right now, and we are going to try and keep it that way tomorrow night with a little bit more momentum."