Big inning lifts Logan County over Warren East

Published 5:07 pm Saturday, March 22, 2025

By Micheal Compton

One early outburst was enough for the Logan County baseball team, which held on for a 7-5 win over Warren East on Saturday at Warren East High School.

Logan County (2-2) scored six runs in the second inning and was able to make it stand, withstanding a late rally from the Raiders.

“That six-run inning was the difference,” Logan County coach Ethan Megiuar said. “We scored a lot of those runs with two outs – kept pushing and took advantage of a few of their mistakes. We executed really well that inning. We did some things that we’ve got to do to try to score. We haven’t been swinging it that good, so we are trying to do some things to help our offense out a little bit.”

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Warren East (2-2) came in looking to make it three straight wins after an opening-night loss. The Raiders got off to a strong start with the first four batters reaching base – including a bases-loaded walk to Matthew Escalera that put the Raiders in front 1-0.

Logan County starting pitcher Tate McLean was able to shut the door after that, striking out the next two batters then getting a fly out to right to leave the bases loaded and keep the deficit at one.

“Really, I was letting my emotions get too high,” McLean said. “(Pitching coach Kelley Jordan) helped me calm down and made me realize I have to be a leader on this team. I have to lead by example. I can’t get too high and I can’t get too low. I just have to keep going. After I got those two strikeouts, it felt great. I knew they couldn’t touch me and had to keep that confidence going throughout the game.”

Logan County quickly answered in the top of the next inning with an RBI single from EJ Walker and an RBI double by McLean to take a 2-1 lead. It was part of a six-run rally with 10 men coming to the plate. The Cougars tallied five hits in the inning, capped by Noah Mosley’s RBI single that made the score 6-1.

The Cougars added an unearned run in the third to make the score 7-1, but Warren East reliever Kieran Jones was able to keep Logan County off the board from there. The lefty pitched 5⅔ innings – scattering six hits – to give his offense a chance to rally.

“He did a great job,” Sanford said. “He probably should have had all zeroes. He held us there where we at least had a chance.”

McLean kept the Raiders quiet through five, including pitching out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the fifth. Warren East finally got a little closer in the sixth when an error and a balk put runners at second and third to set the table for a two-run single by Kavien Hinton.

Warren East got two more runs in the seventh, on a two-out three base error to make the score 7-5. Brenden Bratcher came up as the tying run, but TySean Thomeczek got him to ground out to second on the first pitch to finish it off.

The Raiders finished the day 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

“We’re not very good offensively right now,” WE coach Wes Sanford said. “We’ve got a lot of new guys that haven’t played a whole lot of varsity, so they are having to learn as they go. We will get better.

“Hard contact – we didn’t have a lot of ‘em. They made most of the plays they needed to make to kill our rallies and we didn’t at least force action whenever there were opportunities for us to make something happen.”

Mosley and Tripp Wadlington had three hits each to pace a 10-hit attack for the Cougars.

McLean earned the win, allowing two earned runs and eight hits with eight strikeouts in six innings of work.

Bratcher had two hits and two runs scored for the Raiders.

Logan County will play at Bowling Green at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Warren East plays at South Warren at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.

LCHS 061 000 0 – 7 10 4

WEHS 100 002 2 – 5 8 2

WP: McLean LP: Young

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

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