Huntington Bank produced two come-from-behind victories over McDonald’s/Key Bank to claim Bowling Green
Youth Baseball’s Pee Wee Division championship Monday night.
Facing elimination and down a run after one-half inning of the first game, Huntington Bank rallied for
five runs in the bottom of the first. It added two more in the home half of the third while cruising to
an 8-3 win, forcing a winner-take-all game for the title.
Huntington Bank then posted a 5-2 victory in the second game to win the championship for players age
10-and-under.
"That’s what we knew we had to do because we knew we couldn’t hit their last pitcher (Jimmy
LaForce)," said Huntington Bank head coach Jan Swerlein. "We had to come out ahead in the
first inning."
Gavin Lammers started and picked up the win in the first game, while he also went 1-for-3 with a triple
and a run offensively. Aiden Tobar (2-for-2, two runs) and Tyler Schauer (1-for-2, double, two runs)
also chipped in offensively.
The ensuing title game featured a lower scoring game with Huntington Bank picking up the win thanks to a
pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

McDonald’s/Key Bank came out hitting well and plated two runs in the first inning to take the lead,
although Huntington answered back with a run in the bottom half of the inning.
In the second and third innings, Huntington had a couple runners thrown out on the bases. In the second,
it unsuccessfully attempted a steal of home. In the third, McDonald’s/Key Bank catcher Brady Joseph
gunned a runner down attempting to steal second.
Joseph and his teammates held their one-run lead until Huntington Bank delivered back-to-back RBI singles
in the fourth inning to swing the game. In the fifth, a two-run single increased the lead.
Garrett Ford scored the game winning run for Huntington, while Grady Nekoranec picked up the game-winning
RBI and the win on the mound in relief. Lammers, Tobar and Schauer combined to hit 3-for-8 with a
double, a triple and a run in the second game.
"There was just some good hitters in our lineup," Swerlein said. "We hit the ball all year
long."
For McDonald’s/Key Bank, Kyle Sickler made several nice plays at second base position, including teaming
with Joseph to get a runner attempting to steal second. Braden Loomis picked up a key hit for the team
in the first game. LaForce led McDonald’s/Key Bank with two singles offensively in the second game.
McDonald’s/Key Bank, which started the season 2-9 and won 8 of 11, defeated Huntington Bank to open
winners bracket play.
"We came in as a three seed and played well," said head coach Chad Joseph. "I’m proud of
them. We didn’t really have any all-stars. We just played as a team."
Meanwhile, in what Swerlein called "a great season," Huntington Bank started 17-0, lost a few
games at the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs, but fought back to win the
league championship.