By Nicholas Huenefeld

Special to the Sentinel-Tribune

MILLBURY — A matchup between a pair of undefeated teams in the Northern Buckeye Conference was halted Thursday in the bottom of the seventh inning after a scary outfield collision.

With Eastwood leading Lake 4-3, Gavin Kohlhofer led off the home half of the inning with a line drive deep to left center as leftfielder Brock Messinger and centerfielder Brandon Falls converged on the ball.

Both players collided with each other as Kohlhofer rounded the bases for a game-tying inside-the-park home run. Messinger and Falls remained down as coaches and medical personnel went to check the situation.

The game was halted for the next 15 to 30 minutes as each player received medical attention before ultimately being stretchered off the field. One player had a broken arm while both suffered concussions.

Both Eastwood coach Kevin Leady and Lake coach Casey Witt agreed to suspend the game and will decide on a to be decided makeup date.

No. 1 Eastwood (10-0) and No. 6 Lake (11-0) both came into the game ranked among the top 10 in the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association poll.

The Flyers took advantage of some sloppy defense by the Eagles in the opening frame, plating three unearned runs on a sacrifice fly from Ryan Wagner and an RBI single from Jack Sobczak. Drew Tajblik also scored on a double steal.

Neither team was able to put a rally together until the third inning when Lake’s Jay Blazevich led off with a line drive up the gap in left center, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple as the Flyers failed to add on.

A leadoff error from Lake in the fourth inning allowed Eastwood to get on the board as Paul Lautzenheiser’s bases loaded walk made it 3-1.

After Lake stranded a pair in the bottom half of the fourth, which included a leadoff double from Caleb Tobias, the Eagles broke through for three runs to take the lead in the fifth.

A hit by pitch, a single from Falls and a fielder’s choice put a pair in scoring position for Drew Kachmarik, who delivered his second hit of the game with a line drive through the left side to tie the game.

Two batters later, Xander Greulich scored on an RBI single from Connor Norton to give Eastwood a 4-3 lead.

Lautzenheiser pitched the first five innings for Eastwood, striking out five while allowing five hits and two walks. Kachmarik pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning in relief and was on the mound for the seventh.

Tajblik went all seven innings for Lake while allowing six hits and three walks.