May 14—MIDDLE POINT — On the fourth try, Lincolnview's baseball team found the big inning it was looking for.

The Lancers' 5-0 win over Leipsic on Friday in a matchup of the last two teams still unbeaten in Northwest Conference games was laden with NWC championship implications.

A win by Leipsic would have allowed the Vikings, who also currently lead the Putnam County League, to become the NWC champion.

Lincolnview's victory meant that if it could get a win on Saturday morning over Ada, the NWC's last-place team, it would win the NWC title for the fourth time in a row.

Lincolnview (15-6, 7-0 NWC) struck early on Friday, getting a run in the bottom of the first inning on a leadoff triple by Chayse Overholt and a single by Jack Dunlap.

With the dominant performance turned in by senior right-hander Luke Bollenbacher, that first-inning score would have been enough to get the win.

Bollenbacher allowed only two hits — a first-inning single by Tommy Offenbacher and a sixth-inning single by Quin Schroeder. He struck out nine, didn't walk a batter and the Lancers' defense was flawless behind him.

Obviously, Lincolnview wanted more than just that one run. But it got only one hit in the next three innings before a four-run outburst in the fifth inning put it solidly in control of the game.

"We met in front of the dugout before the fifth inning and I said, 'Guys, we're doing everything right. We're hitting the ball hard, we're just not finding gaps. I feel like this is going to be our inning to break through.' And we did with that four spot," Lincolnview coach Eric Fishpaw said.

Lincolnview started that inning with a walk to Holden Price and a single by Dunlap. After the next two batters were retired, Aiden Hardesty launched a double over the centerfielder's head to score Price and pinch-runner Gavin Evans for a 3-0 lead.

"I just saw two guys on base with two outs and I took my chance at it. I was confident when I went up to the plate. I was looking for a fastball down the middle and that's what he threw," Hardesty said.

Lincolnview made it 4-0 when Cal Evans, running for Hardesty, scored on an error. Bollenbacher, who went 2 for 3 at the plate, singled to score Reide Jackson to give Lincolnview a five-run lead.

Big arms

—Brent Koenig of Miller City tossed a two-hit shutout in an 11-0 win over Continental.

—Griffin Klausing of Kalida earned his first career win against Pandora-Gilboa. He went six innings and struck out 11 batters.

—John Dewar of Leipsic threw six innings and held Ottawa-Glandorf to four hits and one earned run in a 5-3 win.

—Skyler Lhamon of Bath threw a five-inning no-hitter with 14 strikeouts in a 17-0 win over Ottoville.

—Braylon Metzger of Delphos St. John's threw six innings and held Kalida to two hits and one earned run in a 3-1 win.

—Tyler Cupples of Bluffton tossed a complete game shutout, holding Allen East to just three hits in a 2-0 win.

—Kaden Moore of Wapakoneta struck out 10 hitters in six innings to get the win over Columbus Grove.

—Drew Bailey of Wapakoneta picked up the save in a 3-1 win over Columbus Grove.

Big bats

—Carson Lehman of Miller City went 3 for 4 with two RBI in an 11-0 win over Continental.

—Jarron Swick of Fort Jennings hit two doubles, drove in two runs and reached base safely four times in a 7-3 win over Ottoville.

—Carson Gilchriest of Fort Jennings had three hits in a 7-3 win over Ottoville.

—Tyson McGee of Bath recorded three RBI in a 14-2 win over Lima Senior.

—Skyler Lhamon of Bath scored three runs in a 14-2 win over Lima Senior.

—Jarrett Mullen of Wapakoneta drove in three runs on a triple in a 6-5 win over Van Wert.

—Kyle Hopkins of Columbus Grove went 3 for 5 at the plate with four RBI and two runs scored in a 10-4 win over Ada.

—Joel Rasor of Bath had three hits in a 17-0 victory over Ottoville.

—Maddox Underwood of Upper Scioto Valley had three hits in a 13-3 win over Cory-Rawson.

—Owen Cavelage of Fort Jennings had three hits and one RBI in a five-run victory over Upper Scioto Valley.

—Brent Koenig of Miller City went 3 for 4 and drove in two runs in a 12-2 win over Antwerp.

—Quin Schroeder of Leipsic went 3 for 4 and drove in five runs in a 13-5 win over Van Buren.

—Jacob Kaiser of St. Marys went 4 for 4, scored three runs and had three RBI in an 11-5 win over Bluffton (IN).

—Andrew Weis of Miller City had two doubles and drove in three runs in a 12-2 win over Anna.

—Zach Greber of Celina went 3 for 3 in a 2-1 win over Parkway.

—Trey Hensley of Allen East hit a walk-off single in a 5-4 win over Paulding.

—Kahne Sullivan of Bath went 3 for 3 in an 11-0 win over Perry.

—Alex Sanders of Upper Scioto Valley drove in four runs in an 11-5 win over Ridgemont.

BASEBALL STANDINGS

Western Buckeye League

'WBL'All

Defiance'8-1'17-4

Wapakoneta'8-1'14-5

Van Wert'6-3'10-9

Shawnee'5-4'10-13

Celina'5-4'17-8

St. Marys'4-5'8-13

Bath'4-5'14-12

Elida'4-5'9-11

Ottawa-Glandorf'1-8'5-16

Kenton'0-9'3-15

Midwest Athletic Conference

'MAC'All

Minster'8-1'20-5

Versailles'8-1'23-4

Coldwater'6-3'21-4

St. Henry'5-3'13-11

Delphos St. John's'5-4'12-12

Marion Local'4-4'15-11

Fort Recovery'4-5'8-11

New Bremen'2-7'8-9

Parkway'2-7'6-11

New Knoxville'0-9'5-13

Northwest Conference

'NWC'All

Lincolnview'8-0'17-6

Leipsic'7-1'20-2

Crestview'6-2'13-5

Bluffton'5-3'10-9

Columbus Grove'4-4'11-12

Allen East'2-6'10-12

Delphos Jefferson'2-6'4-13

Spencerville'2-6'3-19

Ada'0-8'1-15

Northwest Central Conference

'NWCC'All

Hardin Northern'9-0'16-6

Elgin'8-1'13-8

North Baltimore'6-3'6-15

Waynesfield-Goshen'5-4'8-9

Upper Scioto Valley'5-4'9-10

Perry'4-4'10-9

Ridgemont'3-5'6-15

Cory-Rawson'3-6'6-14

Ridgedale'1-8'1-13

Temple Christian'0-9'0-13

Putnam County League

'PCL'All

Leipsic'6-0'19-2

Miller City'6-1'13-6

Fort Jennings'4-3'14-6

Columbus Grove'4-3'12-12

Kalida'3-4'8-16

Pandora — Gilboa'2-5'7-17

Ottoville'2-4'3-13

Continental'0-7'1-14

Toledo City Athletic League

'TCAL'All

Start'8-1'13-7

Bowsher'7-2'11-5

Lima Senior'7-3'9-14

Rogers'5-6'5-13

Waite'2-6'4-11

Scott'0-2'0-2

Woodward'0-9'0-11

RESULTS AND SCHEDULE

Friday

Bluffton 2, Allen East 0

Elida 3, St. Marys 1

Fort Jennings 7, Upper Scioto Valley 2

Wapakoneta 3, Columbus Grove 1

Miller City 12, Antwerp 2

Van Wert 3, Kalida 2

Minster 2, Fort Loramie 1

Wayne Trace 7, Hicksville 0

New Bremen 2, Ansonia 0

Saturday

Leipsic 13, Van Buren 5

St. Marys 11, Bluffton (Ind.) 5

Lincolnview 10, Ada 0

Miller City 12, Anna 2

Monday

Wapakoneta 8, Shawnee 4

Liberty-Benton 7, LCC 0

Celina 2, Parkway 1

Defiance 20, Fairview 8

Marion Local 14, Miami East 2

Allen East 5, Paulding 4

Lincolnview 5, Kalida 2

Bath 11, Perry 0

McComb 6, Pandora-Gilboa 1

Upper Scioto Valley 11, Ridgemont 5

Findlay 9, Coldwater 8

Fort Recovery 11, Spencerville 1

Wayne Trace 6, Minster 4

St. Henry 8, Tippecanoe 7

Crestview 5, Patrick Henry 2

Tuesday

Games ended after The Lima News deadline. Find scores, game stories, photos and more on LimaScores.com.

Defiance at Paulding, 5 p.m.

Coldwater at Van Wert, 5:30 p.m.

Riverdale at Bluffton, 7 p.m.

Hardin Northern at Columbus Grove, 5 p.m.

Division IV Sectional Semifinals

Ottoville at Kalida, 5 p.m.

Holgate at Miller City, 5 p.m.

Continental at Delphos St. John's, 5 p.m.

Delphos Jefferson at Fort Jennings, 5 p.m.

Ada at Pandora-Gilboa, 5 p.m.

Cory-Rawson at Arlington, 5 p.m.

New Knoxville at Perry, 5 p.m.

Temple Christian at LCC, 5 p.m.

Waynesfield-Goshen at Perry, 5 p.m.

Parkway at New Bremen, 5 p.m.

Wednesday

Division I Sectional Final

Lima Senior at Anthony Wayne, 5 p.m.

Division II Sectional Semifinals

Elida at Bath, 5 p.m.

Kenton at Lexington, 5 p.m.

St. Marys at Shawnee, 5 p.m.

Division III Sectional Semifinals

Bluffton at Carey, 5 p.m.

Allen East at Columbus Grove, 5 p.m.

Ottawa-Glandorf at Van Buren, 5 p.m.

Spencerville at Elmwood, 5 p.m.

SOFTBALL RESULTS AND SCHEDULE

Friday

Columbus Grove 15, Kalida 5

Bryan 6, Bath 0

Van Buren 16, Delphos Jefferson 5

Miller City 3, Leipsic 1

Lincolnview 19, Ottoville 0

LCC 3, Marion Local 2

Patrick Henry 4, Continental 1

Fort Recovery 10, Wayne Trace 2

Minster 24, Perry 0

Coldwater 5, Paulding 3

Saturday

Lincolnview 10, Leipsic 0

Monday

Division IV District Semifinals

Minster 10, LCC 0

New Bremen 3, Ada 2

Regular Season

Ridgedale 8, Waynesfield-Goshen 2

Tuesday

Games ended after The Lima News deadline. Find scores, game stories, photos and more on LimaScores.com.

Ada at Lincolnview, 5 p.m.

Division III District Semifinals at Bath

Van Buren vs Parkway, 4 p.m.

Fort Recovery vs Coldwater, 6 p.m.

Thursday

Division II District Semifinal at UNOH

Defiance vs Bryan, 4 p.m.