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Keaton McEldowney heads home in the fifth after hitting a two run bomb to break the game open for the Miami Valley Heat Thursday. The Heat poured it on the Indiana Elite, winning 11-5. CNO Photos by George Starks
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Heat turns up the heat in title game
Indiana Elite no match
By George Starks
TIPP CITY- In 18 years of coaching, Mark Eldridge never had a team win 50 games in a season.
That all changed Thursday in Tipp City.
In a tight 2-1 game heading into the fifth, the Miami Valley Heat lived up to its name.
Heat!
Miami Valley turned the thermostat up a notch or two against Indiana Elite, hitting three homeruns, four in the game, to defeat the Elite 11-5 for the Midwest Ohio League title.
“This is s great feeling for not only the kids but for me,” said Eldridge. “I’ve never had a team get 50 wins but tonight, we finished the season at 50-7 and that says a lot for the kids on this team.”
The Elite got on the board in the first against Heat starter Nick Thwaits on a sacrifice fly RBI to right off the bat of Cameron Donovan, scoring Preston Scott from third.
The Heat would get even in the second and would eventually take the lead in the fourth.
Cole Niekamp reached on an error and would steal second.
With two down, Curtis Rutschilling wold reach on a fielders choice, allowing Niekamp to score, giving the Heat a slim 2-1 advantage.
Then came the fifth and the Heat bats heated up.
With one down, Logan Eldridge hit a solo shot to center, giving the Heat a two run cushion.
Cade Wendel followed with a double to center. At that point, it was McEldowney’s turn and he hit a rocket to right for an opposite field homerun and two more crossed the plate for a 5-1 lead.
Niekamp would follow with a walk and would score on a two run bomb by Keaton Collins for a 7-1 Heat Lead.
“We were able to take advantage of an error that set things up for us in the fifth,” said Eldridge. “We hit three homeruns in that inning and that pretty much put the game out of reach. Our bats were a little quiet in the beginning but we made some adjustments and got things going. Once we got lit up with the bats, we took control.”
While the offense got hot late, scoring 11 runs total, four more in the sixth, the Heat pitching struggled.
“Our pitching has been good all season long,” said Eldridge. “Tonight, we had to use three pitchers but we manage to score the runs to support all that. They weren’t on their ‘A’ game but it was a team effort.”
It was the fourth time the two teams had met this season with the Heat making it a clean sweep.
“This was a special win for us,” Eldridge admitted. “We won the league title and that is more than enough to make it special. It was the last game of the year and everything was riding on this game. We’ve won six tournaments this year but tonight was the icing on the cake.”
The team will take a few months off and Eldridge will start over again in November, in preparation for the 2014 season. The Heat is a 13-U team so when the new team is formed, it will see a lot of new faces.
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Cole Niekanp get in safe at second on a steal attempt.
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