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Xenia loses ACME baseball game

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XENIA — At one point Xenia’s Blaine Dudley wore six rally caps and a teammates sunglasses atop his head, in hopes of sparking a seventh-inning rally, Monday June 26 in an ACME Baseball Congress summer league high school baseball game against Bellefontaine.

Maybe he should’ve wore a few more caps. Despite limiting the visiting Chieftains to four hits in the seven-inning contest, Bellefontaine escaped Xenia High School’s baseball diamond with a 4-3 win.

Dudley started the game and limited Bellefontaine to a run and a hit through the first three inning of play. But Bellefontaine tagged the Xenia righty with with a pair of hits (one of which was a two-RBI double) to claim three runs in the fourth.

The Xenia starter stayed on the mound in the fifth, but with two out Dudley hit the next two Chieftains and walked another. That brought on reliever Dylan Hall who ended the Bellefontaine threat by striking out the next Chieftains batter with the bases loaded.

Hall fanned four of the first five batters he faced (six in all), and gave up one hit over the final 2 1/3 innings.

Logan Bilbrey scored Xenia’s first run on a Bellefontaine first-inning error. Trevor Shepherd trotted home with the team’s second run in the fourth when Dudley drew a bases loaded walk. Bilbrey singled to right to score Shepherd with the third Xenia run in the sixth inning, but the team was retired in order in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.

Xenia had its chances to rally. They had the bases loaded in the second, but didn’t score, and they had bases loaded in the fourth and sixth innings but could manage only a pair of runs.

Bilbrey and Shepherd each got on base with each of their plate appearances. Bilbrey went 2-for-2 with a run scored and another knocked in. He also reached on a walk and was hit by a pitch. Shepherd also was 2-for-2 at the plate. He scored twice and also got on base with a second-inning walk.

When some see the word ACME, they look around for bird seed or maybe an anvil, but there’s no road runners or coyotes involved here. The ACME Baseball Congress is a non-profit organization comprised of 72 teams from throughout western Ohio.

Xenia is in ACME District 5, with Allen East, Bluffton, Crestview, Delphos Jefferson, Elida, Lima Central Catholic, Lima Bath, Lima Shawnee, Lincolnview, St. Mary’s, Van Wert and Wapakoneta. Bellefontaine is in District 6 with New Paris Graham, Indian Lake, London, Mechanicsburg, Northeastern, Riverside, Springfield, Springfield Shawnee, New Carlisle Tecumseh, West Liberty and Greene County’s Greeneview.

The ACME post season tournaments get under way, starting July 1-5 with the double-elimination sectional tournament. District tourney action runs July 9-12 and is also played with a two-losses-and-you’re-out format. The single-elimination ACME state championship tournament is scheduled to take place July 15-17 in Lima.

Xenia third baseman Logan Bilbrey sets to throw to throw out a Bellefontaine runner heading to first during Monday’s ACME Baseball Congress summer high school league game on the Xenia High School baseball diamond. Bellefontaine won the game, 4-3.
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/06/web1_Logan-Bilbrey3B_PS.jpgXenia third baseman Logan Bilbrey sets to throw to throw out a Bellefontaine runner heading to first during Monday’s ACME Baseball Congress summer high school league game on the Xenia High School baseball diamond. Bellefontaine won the game, 4-3. John Bombatch | Greene County News

Xenia’s Blaine Dudley apparently didn’t wear enough rally caps to salvage Monday’s June 26 ACME Baseball Congress baseball game at Xenia High School’s baseball diamond. Visiting Bellefontaine won the high school summer league game, 4-3.
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/06/web1_BlaineDudleyCaps_PS.jpgXenia’s Blaine Dudley apparently didn’t wear enough rally caps to salvage Monday’s June 26 ACME Baseball Congress baseball game at Xenia High School’s baseball diamond. Visiting Bellefontaine won the high school summer league game, 4-3. John Bombatch | Greene County News

Xenia’s Ben Salyers is caught in a rundown between a pair of Bellefontaine Chieftains, in the fourth inning of Monday’s June 26 ACME Baseball Congress summer high school baseball league game at Xenia High School.
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/06/web1_BenSalyersRunDown_PS.jpgXenia’s Ben Salyers is caught in a rundown between a pair of Bellefontaine Chieftains, in the fourth inning of Monday’s June 26 ACME Baseball Congress summer high school baseball league game at Xenia High School. John Bombatch | Greene County News

Preston Webb hits a ball off the end of his bat, in the third inning of Monday’s June 26 summer league baseball game at Xenia High. Visiting Bellefontaine won the ACME Baseball Congress high school baseball game, 4-3.
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/06/web1_PrestonWebbNubber.jpgPreston Webb hits a ball off the end of his bat, in the third inning of Monday’s June 26 summer league baseball game at Xenia High. Visiting Bellefontaine won the ACME Baseball Congress high school baseball game, 4-3. John Bombatch | Greene County News

Xenia pitchers Blaine Dudley (shown) and Dylan Hall combined to strikeout 10 Bellefontaine batters while giving up just four hits, but the Xenia duo also walked six Chieftains and hit two others to put plenty of runners on base in Monday’s June 26, 4-3, loss.
http://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2017/06/web1_DudleyPitch_PS.jpgXenia pitchers Blaine Dudley (shown) and Dylan Hall combined to strikeout 10 Bellefontaine batters while giving up just four hits, but the Xenia duo also walked six Chieftains and hit two others to put plenty of runners on base in Monday’s June 26, 4-3, loss. John Bombatch | Greene County News

By John Bombatch

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You can reach John Bombatch at 937-372-4444, Ext. 2123.