Strong pitching leads Old Fort over Lakota

KANSAS – When Brandon Tittle is on the top of his game, the Old Fort senior is hard to beat.

Lakota found that out Monday as Tittle struck out 10 and allowed seven hits to lead Old Fort over the Raiders, 6-3, in Sandusky River League action.

"Brandon pitched phenomenal," Old Fort coach Gary Wilson said. "He did a great job keeping their hitters off balance. They're the top hitting team in the league and he had to keep them guessing and did."

The Stockaders (8-13 overall, 5-3 SRL) opened a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning with three runs. Luke Wagner and Noah Henry scored on a deep two-run double by Tittle, who jumped on an off-speed pitch from Lakota hurler Hunter Chalfin. Jacob Hammond later laced a shot to center field and over the head of Josh Mason, scoring Tittle comfortably.

"The offense responded to Brandon's performance by getting the runs for him," Wilson said. "We've got good speed on this team and we're not afraid to take risks."

The Raiders (9-6, 3-3) got a run in the seventh inning on an RBI single by Jacob Stewart but Tittle got his 10th strikeout of the night when he rang up Brenden Biddle for a second time.

"Tittle is a good pitcher," Lakota coach Terry James said. "We're the best hitting team in the league and we couldn't get it done. Tittle pitched a great game."

Lakota was hurt by four errors.

"We've had numerous games that errors have killed us in," James said. "This is probably the fourth time in six losses that errors have hurt us. We've got to figure that out or it's going to cost us the season."

Chalfin took the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks. Casey Monroe pitched the final three innings, allowing five hits and two runs. He struck out three.

"Hunter has been our most consistent pitcher all year," James said. "I'm proud of Casey Monroe though. He struggled early this season in his senior year but came in and gave us a strong performance here."