By Jacob Russell

CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Steam’s offensive explosion on Friday night included three home runs, hits from eight of their starting nine and twelve bases on balls issued by Grand Lake’s pitching staff. 

Run number one of 17 was an RBI single off the bat of left fielder Jack Krumbach (Xavier) that scored shortstop Tyler Wardwell (Duke) in the bottom of the second inning.

Consecutive doubles in the top of the third inning by Jack Gallagher (South Carolina Upstate) and Oliver Campbell (Dartmouth College) tied the Mariners with Cincinnati.

Andrew Noelker (Cincinnati), the Steam’s starting pitcher, didn’t get a decision added to his 2-0 record because he completed only three innings in 70 pitches. Noelker allowed five hits and one earned run, struck out three and walked four. 

A second Grand Lake run, this one in the fourth inning, gave them their only lead of the night. Left fielder Sean Dixson’s (Tennessee Martin) RBI single was the only run given up by Cincinnati reliever Justin Ward (Thomas More) in four innings. Ward gave up only two hits and struck out two while earning his first win of the season.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Steam center fielder Ethan Stringer (Louisville) tied the game with a double that plated Krumbach. Stringer was brought home later in the inning by a Cameron Rountree (Wright State) single.

Mariners starter Ryan Mohr’s (Findlay) loss moved his record to 1-2. Mohr allowed seven hits and four runs (two earned), struck out five and walked five in four and two-thirds innings.

An error by the Grand Lake first baseman allowed Stringer, the first batter Mariners reliever Tommy Siemer (Bluffton) faced, to reach base again in the bottom of the fifth. Cincinnati third baseman Brett Benzinger (Thomas More) scored on the same play. 

Siemer came in to record the final out of the fifth but couldn’t do anything after that. He allowed back-to-back homers: second baseman Eddie Pursinger’s (Dayton) two-run shot and first baseman Griffin Merritt’s (Cincinnati) first home run of the night.

Kyle Norstrom (Judson), who relieved Siemer after he allowed four earned runs in one-third of an inning, didn’t fare much better. Norstrom gave up two earned runs before getting all three outs in the sixth and was responsible for seven earned runs in total. 

Warsaw Federal Player of the Game Griffin Merritt hit his second home run, this one with Pursinger on base, to contribute to his team’s eight runs in the seventh inning. Merritt, Pursinger and Stringer each finished the game with three RBIs. 

Alex Firsdon (Iowa Western CC), for Cincinnati, and Calvin Andringa (Lakeland CC), for the Mariners, pitched the final two innings and gave up two runs (one earned).

The Steam’s starters for this weekend’s games at Hillsdale College against the Michigan Monarchs are Southern Indiana’s Jordan Menfee (2-0, 1.75 ERA) and Wright State’s Jake Schrand (1-1, 2.29 ERA).

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