After taking advantage of errors to defeat Northmor in the state semifinal the #4 Lake Center Christian Tigers took advantage of miscues and held off #2 Hiland 2-1 to capture the Division 6 State Championship, it's first in program history.
Each team had its share of opportunities in the first three innings before the Tigers (25-4) broke through in the bottom of the fourth Colton Smilek led of the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He then moved to third on a ground out and scored on an infield error to break the scoreless tie.
They added another in the bottom of the fifth when Aaron Zietlow started the inning with a walk. He moved to second on a wild pitch and scored two batters later on a Luke Heckert RBI single making it 2-0.
The Hawks (24-5) would not go down easily, however, as they got on the board in the top of the seventh. With one out Logan Yoder singled. Isaiah Wagler followed with an RBI double down the left field line making it 2-1, but Wagler would be stranded there as Lake Center Christian secured their first state championship in its' second trip to the final four.
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
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