Kelly makes early runs hold up in win over Oran

ORAN -- Before he threw his first pitch, Ian Householder already had a sizable lead.

Householder struck out 10 in his seven innings of work as Kelly's ace was blessed with a grand slam in the first inning which sparked the Hawks' 6-3 win over the Oran Eagles Tuesday at Oran High School.

"A 4-0 lead changes everything," Householder said. "If you're up four runs you can settle down, throw strikes and you don't have to be as careful with hitters. You can attack them and let them put the ball in play."

Although Kelly began the game with two quick outs, a walk to Matt Proctor set things in motion for a big inning for the visitors.

Householder, who gave up four hits, reached on an error, followed by Aaron Casey getting hit by a pitch loading the bases for Gabe Felter. Felter ripped a 1-0 count into left field taking advantage of gusty winds and knocking all three runners in, as well as himself.

"That was just a big two out hit right there," Kelly head coach Josh Eftink said. "He sat back and got one up in the air and got it out of here. That's a big blow early on and it gives someone like Ian some confidence out there on the mound."

"That was the difference in the ball game," Oran head coach Mitch Wood said about Felter's big fly. "The wind was blowing and he got it up and out. We had two outs and nobody on and they end up loading the bases. Walks will kill you."

Oran (13-7) fought back with one run in their half of the first inning after Kody Moore hit a one out triple. Blake Carlyle pushed Moore across on a fielder's choice.

Despite giving up an early run, Householder shook it off and cruised through the next three innings where he allowed just one hit and struck out four. He also stranded four Oran baserunners.

"I had enough movement on my fastball that if I got it over the plate it didn't seem like (Oran) was seeing it very well," Householder said. "I kept them off balance a little bit with my changeup, but other than that it was just locating my pitches."

Kelly added one run in the fourth when Austin Wadlington was pushed across and another in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Procter that scored Anthony Klunk.

"We hit the ball fairly well today," Eftink said about we still left a few more on base than I would have liked, but, overall, you've got to be happy with the way we hit it."

The Eagles battled back with two runs in the fifth inning when Alex Heuring and Carlyle both scored early in the inning.

Heuring led off with a walk and eventually took home on a passed ball. Carlyle was singled in by Garrett Schaefer.

"We've been struggling with the bats," Wood said. "You've got to tip your hat to (Householder) because he threw well. We've seen three lefty's in our last four games and I thought we'd do better against him. We had a lot of balls hit right at them, but hopefully we can get things straightened out."

In the final two innings, Householder held strong although Oran kept knocking on the door. The left hander stranded two runners in the sixth inning, but ended the frame with a strikeout.

He sat down the next three in order to end the game.

"There were a few times where he walked a few," said Eftink, "but he got back into his rhythm and finished the game strong. That's how he goes into games. If you're going to get to him, you have to get to him early in the game."

Chance Tenkhoff took the loss for the Eagles after pitching four innings and giving up four unearned runs on four hits. Oran used three different pitchers including Heuring and Alex Schlosser.

"We played in a tournament last weekend and we didn't have a lot of pitching left," Wood said. "A lot of these kids won't see time during districts and we had to throw somebody. Right now, we're a pitcher short and we're having to work with that. But, you still have to play."

Kelly 400 101 0 -- 6 4 2

Oran 100 020 0 -- 3 4 2

WP -- Ian Householder. LP -- Chance Tenkhoff. 2B -- (K) Austin Wadlington. (O) Blake Carlyle. 3B -- (O) Kody Moore. HR -- Gabe Felter.