P.J. Johnston and Kyle Kellum combined on a one-hitter with nine strikeouts Wednesday as New Miami conquered Lockland 3-0 at Gardner Park.
“The difference is last year and even two years ago at New Miami, we found a way to lose games. Now we’re finding a way to win games,” Vikings coach Ralph Lunsford said. “That says something about the integrity of our kids. They’ve bought into the program, drank the Kool-Aid so to speak.
“This team said early in the year, ‘We want the league title, and we want more.’ We’ve been to the (Division IV) sectional finals three out of the five years, and I think it’s time for us to take that next step as well. I never underestimate my kids because they always step up to the challenge.”
New Miami, 9-3 overall and leading the Gray Division with a 6-2 mark, scratched out three unearned runs on only three hits against Lockland southpaw Brady Runk.
The Panthers, playing as the visitors on their home field due to a schedule switch, got an infield single from Shawn Campbell to start the game. Their leadoff batter reached base in every inning, but Lockland stranded 10 runners and left the bases loaded in the seventh.
Panthers coach Joey Peak said it was still a pretty good overall performance for his club, which fell to 2-10, 0-8.
“We had four guys who made their first starts tonight,” Peak said. “That was probably Brady’s best performance on the mound, but we had some mental mistakes. I believe a couple errors on the basepaths kept us from winning that ballgame.”
Johnston, Kellum and Christian Acus had the Vikings’ RBIs. Brian Hensley cracked a double, while catcher Austin Howard cut down two runners on steal attempts.
Johnston struck out seven, walked seven and hit a batter. When the senior right-hander walked Kyle Runk to start the sixth, Lunsford called Kellum to the mound.
“I wouldn’t say that I was out of gas. I just wasn’t on today like usual,” Johnston said. “I was starting to lose it, lose composure. It was better for the team to bring someone else in.”
“I told my batters to be patient with the way (Johnston) was pitching,” Peak said. “It looked like he had a little trouble getting set on the mound. That’s one of the good things about having home-field advantage. Our pitchers are already comfortable with that.”
Kellum, a junior righty, survived a rocky seventh. Kevin Jefferson reached base on an error, Jacob Cromer walked and Brady Runk got hit by a pitch for Lockland, but Kellum retired Trey Seurkamp on a game-ending 5-3 ground out.
Seven Hills came to New Miami and handled the Vikings 4-0 on Tuesday, and the Stingers stand second in the Gray Division at 3-3. Lunsford felt that defeat took something out of his team.
“That was a gut-wrencher for us,” he said. “It had huge league implications, and we just flat laid an egg. Maybe we were still licking our wounds a little bit today. I thought we’d play a little sharper today.”
New Miami had a chance to pull away from the Panthers early. Acus, who brought a .484 batting average into the contest, came up with one out and the bases loaded in the second inning. He sent a laser right into the glove of third baseman DeAndre Robinson, and that led to an unassisted double play.
“Nothing you can do about that,” Lunsford said. “That ball’s probably still rolling if he doesn’t catch it. In the last three games, Acus has hit the ball probably better than he’s hit it all year, and his average has probably dropped 110 points. He’s just stinging it right at people.”
The Vikings hit the ball hard a few times off Brady Runk, but not enough to satisfy Lunsford. Runk had seven strikeouts and six walks.
“We’re not hitting the ball like we were early in the season,” Lunsford said. “I don’t think we’re seeing the ball and putting it in play as much as I’d like. I think we’re gloving it and communicating well, but we can’t do what we do — which is cause havoc on the basepaths — when we’re not putting the ball in play.”
Trey Isaac was slated to get Wednesday’s mound start for New Miami, but a Tuesday car fire and some smoke inhalation kept him out of the lineup.
Johnston threw 105 pitches before getting pulled. He said he was dealing with a hip issue.
“When I went out to get him, he flipped me the ball before I even said anything to him, so it was time,” Lunsford said. “Kyle does a great job for us. He just comes in and throws strikes.”
Johnston said winning another MVC championship is a priority for this team.
“Go big or go home,” he said. “Shoot for the stars.”
The Vikings were scheduled to host North College Hill on Thursday, but that game has been moved to NCH. Lockland returns to action with a home doubleheader against Felicity-Franklin on Saturday.
The Panthers are in rebuilding mode under Peak, a 2008 Lockland graduate and former Panther baseball player. This is his first season at the helm.
“We are very young,” said Peak, noting that freshmen and sophomores make up 50 percent of his roster. “I have a lot of athletic talent, but in terms of a baseball concept, it’s not really a bunch of mental players yet. Hopefully down the road they’ll have the mind-set down to go along with the physical attributes.”
Lockland 000-000-0—0-1-4
New Miami 110-100-x—3-3-2
WP — P.J. Johnston (2-0); LP — Brady Runk (1-3); S — Kyle Kellum (1). Records: L 2-10, 0-8 MVC Gray; N 9-3, 6-2 MVC Gray
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