EBER — Wilmington sent 11 batters to the plate in the fifth inning Monday and broke open a close game en route to a 9-4 win over Miami Trace in South Central Ohio League baseball action.

Wilmington is 4-4 overall and 3-0 in the SCOL. Miami Trace drops to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in league play.

The Hurricane has an first round SCOL showdown at home Wednesday against Clinton-Massie.

On a bitterly cold and relentlessly windy day, Wilmington fell behind early 2-0.

“Early in the game it looked like it was going to be their game,” WHS head coach Rick Kneisel said. “They were making the plays and we weren’t getting the timely hits.”

Wilmington put runners on first and third in the first and didn’t score. WHS loaded the bases in the second and didn’t score and then had runners at second and third in the third and failed to cross the plate, Kneisel said.

That changed in the fourth when Brady McCune singled and Ryan Hottinger walked to start the rally. After a fielder’s choice left runners at first and third, Marlyn Frisco stroked a two-out single to get the Hurricane on the board. Andrew Davis later tied the game when he scored on a passed ball, Kneisel said.

In the fifth, WHS broke the game open. Thanks to several Panther fielding miscues, timely hits by McCune (RBI that put WHS on top for good), Frisco and Krause helped push seven runs across the plate and give WHS a comfortable 9-2 lead.

McCune pitched five solid innings. He gave up four runs but none of them were earned, Kneisel said. Krause finished with two innings of one-hit ball to close it out.

Frisco finished with three hits and two RBI. Krause had a double, was walked twice and hit by a pitch. McCune had two hits and knocked in a run.