By SCOTT NOVAK

Dowagiac Daily News

EDWARDSBURG – After struggling to produce runs since its first two games of the season, Dowagiac’s bats finally came to life in the second game of a non-league game against host Edwardsburg on Wednesday.

The result was a split for the Chieftains, who are now 4-4 on the season.

The Eddies (3-3) took the opening game 3-0, while the Chieftains grabbed the nightcap 6-5.

Kyle Slack tossed a one-hitter in the opening game for Edwardsburg with nine strikeouts and not a single walk.

Edwardsburg scored a run in the first and two in the second to account for all the scoring.
Trevor Milliken had a double and a single, while Mike Kempton added a pair of hits.
Aaron Blaske took the loss, but pitched well.

“Aaron pitched the best game of his high school career,” Dowagiac coach Bryan Henry said.

In the second game, Dowagiac scored four runs in the second inning, a run in the third and a run in the fourth and then turned to pitching and defense to hold off the Eddies.
Edwardsburg, which scored a run in the second, three runs in the fifth and a run in the sixth, had the bases loaded with no outs in the seventh inning, but couldn’t push a run across the plate.

“We made some big defensive plays the last two innings to wiggle out of jams,” Henry said.

Darius Wilson worked into the fifth for the Chieftains and gave up just one hit in his longest stint of the season.

Jason Turner came on in the fifth and made enough good pitches to earn the victory and keep the Eddies from pulling out the victory.

“Jason didn’t have his best stuff, but it was a very gutsy performance,” Henry said.
Cody Carnell had a home run and a single. His solo shot in the fourth inning proved to be the difference in the game.

Blaske had two hits and an RBI, while Andrew Kurdelmeyer singled and drove in two runs. Turner and Seth Engler also had a single and an RBI. Brett Scanlon chipped in with a double.

Daniel Witucki took the loss for the Eddies despite allowing just two hits.

Ethan Moreno had a double and a single for Edwardsburg, which also got doubles from Trevor Milliken and Taylor Coquillard. Wade Smous and Kempton both had two hits.

Dowagiac will open up defense of its Wolverine Conference championship on Friday when it hosts South Haven.

First game

Dowagiac 000 000 0 – 0 1 2

Edwardsburg 120 000 x – 3 5 1

WP – Kyle Slack and Wade Smous

LP – Aaron Blaske and Brett Scanlon

2B: Trevor Milliken (E)

Second game

Dowagiac 041 100 0 – 6 8 0

Edwardsburg 010 031 0 – 5 8 1

WP – Jason Turner (5), Darius Wilson and Brett Scanlon

LP – Daniel Witucki, Wade Smous (5)

2B: Scanlon (D), Trevor Milliken (E), Taylor Coquillard (E), Ethan Moreno (E)

HR: Cody Carnell (D)

Varsity records: Dowagiac 4-4, Edwardsburg 3-3