FELICITY — Zach West struck out 18 batters and Blanchester won its third straight 13-4 Thursday night over Felicity.

The SBAAC National Division baseball win puts the Wildcats at 6-2 overall, 4-1 in the division.

The Cardinals are 2-4, 1-4.

“We were ready to play,” Blanchester manager Aaron Lawson said. “We created some early offense jumping out in front to set the tone. We realize we aren’t going to knock the ball out of the ball park. We pride ourselves on putting the ball in play, having quality at bats, and running the bases hard. That’s our identity.”

On this night, West was was front and center as the face of the Wildcats. The Blanchester school record is believed to be 19 strikeouts by Kenny Strobel against Reesville during the 1941 season.

“Zach West had himself a day on the mound,” Lawson said. “He had everything working for him. I could call any pitch, in any count. What’s great is he wasn’t trying to strike guys out. We were mixing speeds and locations just trying to stay off the barrel.”

Ty Miller had three hits and Sammy Roush reached base three times from the leadoff slot.

“What I love about this team is it’s a different guy each night. Anyone can hit at anytime. Reminds me a lot of that 2018 regional final team,” Lawson said.

SUMMARY

April 13, 2023

@Felicity-Franklin High School

Blanchester 13, Felicity 4

B^2^4^2^0^0^5^0^(13-10-6)

F^1^2^1^0^0^0^0^(4-3-2)

(13) BLANCHESTER (ab-r-h-rbi) Roush 3-2-2-1 Elston 1-0-0-0 Sears 1-0-0-0 James Wymer 3-2-0-0 Dick 2-1-0-0 Skates 0-0-0-0 Sipple 3-1-1-2 Burress 0-0-0-0 Jansen Wymer 4-1-1-1 West 4-3-1-0 Miller 3-2-3-2 Mueller 1-0-1-1 Dees 2-0-1-1 Wiley 1-0-0-0 Estep 3-1-0-0 TOTALS 31-13-10-8

2B: Miller 2, Roush, Sipple

HBP: Dick, Estep, Skates, Jansen Wymer, James Wymer

SB: Dees, Dick, Miller, Jansen Wymer

PITCHING^ip^h^r^er^bb^so

West (W)^7^3^4^0^4^18