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It’s all ours.
The Bluffton Tigers did not want to share the Allen County Athletic Conference baseball championship with anyone. So they made sure of it on Tuesday.
The Tigers just needed to defeat their Wells County rivals, the Southern Wells Raiders, to secure the title and they did so in convincing fashion.
With a grand slam home run and two-run homer by junior Cody Cochran, the Tigers (14-5) pounded the Raiders 11-0 in five innings at Bluffton.
The Tigers finished the conference with a 6-1 mark.
Sealing the victory was sophomore right-hander Cameron Gerber (6-1), who shut out the Raiders with a two-hitter. Gerber struck out seven hitters and hit one.
Southern Wells (7-12) ended up 2-5 in ACAC action.
In addition to Cochran, the Tigers also had two other long balls. Tyler Holmes and Gary Green drilled solo shots.
Cochran gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the first inning and they erupted for eight runs in the second to go ahead 10-0.
Mark Vanderkolk ripped a triple and drove in one run. Jarred Carpenter had two hits and knocked in one run. Tanner McKinney added a double and scored a run. Jake King was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Carpenter and Gerber each scored twice.
The Raiders had a double by Jake Ripperger and a single by Jordan Caldwell.
Devin Leas started on the mound for the Raiders and took the loss. He gave up nine runs on eight hits over 1 1/3 innings. He was relieved by Luke Roush in the second. Roush allowed two runs and gave up four hits. He walked one and struck out four over 2 2/3 innings.
Eight runs were earned against Leas and one was earned against Roush. The Raiders’ defense committed three errors.
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