By Joe Zavala
Ashland Daily Tidings
Before heading off to Bozeman, Mont., to compete in the American Legion A northwest regional tournament, Ashland Pilots’ infielder/pitcher Ethan Schlecht insisted that despite the stakes, he and his teammates would not be intimidated.
Turns out, Schlecht knows his team pretty well.
Billy Hansen went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, Schlecht hit his second home run in three games and Brady Thomas dominated on the mound as Ashland walloped the Powell Pioneers of Wyoming 15-1 in the first round of the regional tournament Friday at Heroes Field.
The Pilots (32-12) scored four runs on four hits, including Schlecht’s solo shot, in the third to open up a 6-0 lead, then tacked on seven more in the sixth, three on Hansen’s bases-clearing triple, to bury the Pioneers (42-15). The game, scheduled for nine innings, ended after seven by the 10-run mercy rule.
“I’m not surprised that we came out and played really good baseball, but I’m kind of surprised with how many extra-base hits that we had,” Ashland head coach Jeff Turner said. “We just attacked them for seven innings. We didn’t leave any shadow of doubt, and we haven’t really seen that from this team a lot this summer.”
Read the rest of this story in Saturday’s Tidings. The box score can be found here.
