Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth senior David Top takes a high fastball for a ball during a Red Rock Conference baseball game in Adrian Tuesday. Top singled home a run for the Patriots during an 8-2 loss to the Dragons.
By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian Dragons ran their Red Rock Conference-leading baseball record to 3-1 with an 8-2 home win over Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth Tuesday.
The Dragons snapped a deadlock at one by scoring seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings and went on to down the 1-3 Patriots by six runs.
H-BC-E tied the game at one when Darin DeBoer walked and scored on David Top's infield single in the top of the fourth, but Adrian scored three times in the bottom of the fourth and added four runs in the fifth to put the game away.
Adrian's Pete Hohn broke the tie when he sent a lead-off home run over the center field fence to start the bottom of the fourth.
Back-to-back doubles by Brandon Wolf and Jake Salter accounted for the second run of the inning, and Colt Bullerman slapped a run-scoring single to make it a 4-1 game.
The Dragons padded their lead to 8-1 in the fifth.
Derek Vastenhout started the rally with a triple before scoring on a passed ball. Dusty Spieker singled home the second run of the inning and scored the final counter on another passed ball. Bullerman picked up an RBI with a fielderÕs choice during the frame.
H-BC-E capped the scoring when Lyle DeBoer hit a towering homer over the left-field fence in the top of the sixth.
Adrian scored the game's first run in the bottom of the third when Bullerman walked and scored on Vastenhout's fielder's choice.
Tyler Wolf pitched the first five and two-thirds innings to pick up the win for AHS. He fanned six batters and allowed two runs, two walks and three hits. Brandon Wolf pitched the final one and one-third innings, striking out two batters.
Top allowed eight hits, eight runs and six walks in a five-inning stint as H-BC-E's starting and losing pitcher. He recorded two strikeouts. Lyle DeBoer walked two batters while pitching a scoreless sixth inning.
The 3-5 Dragons play in Edgerton today, they host Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove and Murray County Central tomorrow and Monday, and they take on RRC-W-WG in Lamberton Tuesday.
H-BC-E plays Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin in Butterfield today before hosting Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster-Southwest Star Concept Monday.