Big relief
BUTLER TWP — Teammates affectionately call him "Big Unit."
Jacob Lenhart certainly came up big.
The biggest player on the Butler Township 9- and 10-year-old Little League team went 3-for-4, scored three runs and also picked up a big save to lead his team to a 19-11 win over Franklin in the District 25 championship game over Franklin Thursday.
Butler Township beatFranklin 8-4 on the road Wednesday in the first game of the best-of-three series.
Lenhart struck out two — a big feat consideringFranklin rarely strikes out — and gave up only three unearned runs.
"(Lenhart) is a big kind and he throws very, very hard," said Butler Township coach Daryl Patten. "Sometimes his accuracy is an issue, so we use him as a closer. He's done a phenomenal job."
Lenhart came in with Butler Township clinging to a 9-7 lead and got out of the inning with his team still up by a run.
The rest was up to Butler Township's formidable lineup, and everyone in it got at least one hit.
CoryWheeler tripled and singled twice and drove in two runs, Adam Schaffner doubled, singled and drove in a run, and Mark Gross, Chris Gamble and RyanDenny also drove in two runs. each
"The kids have just hit well all year," Patten said. "We put a lot of runs on the board."
Butler Township fell behind 2-1 after the first inning, but scored four runs in the top of the second inning to take the lead for good.
It led 9-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth before Franklin's five-run rally made things interesting.
Through it all, there was no panic on the faces of the Butler Township players.
"We were hoping the kids would react like that," Patten said.
Butler Township reacted by scoring three more in the fifth inning and seven in the sixth to put the game well out of reach.
It was by no means easy. Butler Township faced a hitting team inFranklin comparable to itself.
"They are a fantastic team," Patten said. "I think they struck out three, maybe four times, in the two games. That's just phenomenal compared to the kind of pitching they were seeing from us."
Patten is hoping that pitching will carry his team in the Section II tournament inWorthington.
"I think the strength of our pitching staff is going to play well for us throughout the section tournament," Patten said. "We don't rely on the strikeout. We don't rely on just one facet of the game. We try to prepare for everything. We have a lot a lot of arsenals at our disposal."
