PEMBERVILLE – Despite losing eight starters to graduation from its highly successful 2018 team, Eastwood
baseball is off to a 3-0 start in the 2019 season, after a 13-2 win over Toledo Waite Thursday.
“Our biggest thing is to go out and compete and give us everything you have,” Eastwood head coach Kevin
Leady said. “We have been talking 15 strong. We have 15 guys in the dugout and each and every one of
them has a role for us.
“And tonight all 15 got into the game, which is big for us. We want to keep everyone involved and moving
forward.”
The tone offensively was set early as Eastwood scored three times in the first inning and added five runs
in the third inning. The Eagles scored five more times in the fourth inning and the game ended after
four and a half innings on the mercy rule.
“I was happy for the most part with our approach,” Leady said. “We did enough today. … I’m happy in the
direction we are going.”
The first three hitters in the order for the Eagles – Lake Boos, Justin Pickerel and Gavin Slattman —
combined to reach base in all of their nine plate appearances and score nine runs. Pickerel and Slattman
each had two hits and each reached on an error while Boos had a hit and two walks.
Slattman and Paul Smith each had an RBI in the first inning. Andrew Arntson drove in two runs in the
second inning while Isaac Cherry, Slattman and Noah Hahn each drove in one run.
Boos, Cherry and Arntson are all freshmen.
Waite scored two runs in the top of the third inning on a single by Arnold Crossno. It was the only hit
allowed by Boos in his four innings of work.
In the fourth inning, Pickerel hit a booming RBI double into deep center field and Noah Henline added a
two-RBI double. Isaac Badenhop hit an RBI single and Reid Buchman contributed a sacrifice fly.
Boos gutted out his four innings on the mound, hitting three batters and walking six while striking out
five.
Leady said the team is getting leadership from its three captains – seniors Slattman and Hahn and
Pickerel, a junior who is a three-year starter.
“Their leadership and how the way they bring the young kids along says a lot for our program moving
forward,” Leady said. “It’s amazing. They do things correctly and that says a lot about the program. I
am proud of them.”