By SCOTT NOVAK

Dowagiac Daily News

A six-run fourth inning turned a non-conference battle between visiting Brandywine and Dowagiac, a pair of league co-champions in 2009 into a blowout.

The Chieftains (6-5) scored six times in the bottom of the fourth on its way to a 10-0 win over the Bobcats (8-8) Wednesday afternoon.

Dowagiac was able to take advantage of three Brandywine errors in the inning and some timely hitting.

Zac Hyatt did most of the damage with a three-run home run. Aaron Blaske and Brett Scanlon both had doubles in the inning.

Dowagiac grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning and added three more runs in the third inning as it opened up a 4-0 advantage.

The Chieftains followed that up with the six-run explosion and then turned it over to its defense and the pitching of Blaske.

Blaske turned in his second straight solid performance as he tossed a two-hitter with seven strikeouts and just one walk.

“Blaske continues to pitch well,” Dowagiac coach Bryan Henry said. “He’s had two great outings in a row, this one obviously a little better than the other one.”

The Chieftains banged out nine hits against several Brandywine pitchers. Henry was pleased with the production from his offense.

“Offensively we’re starting to swing the bats a bit and taking advantage of hitters’ counts,” he said. “We’re starting to play a little looser. Except for one double play ball, when we had guys in scoring position, we drove them in. We put the ball in play.”

Henry hopes that the momentum from Wednesday night’s game will carry over into Friday’s Wolverine Conference doubleheader at Three Rivers.

The Bobcats, who swept a key Lakeland Conference doubleheader from Berrien Springs on Tuesday night, which featured a comeback from an 8-1 deficit, appeared to be flat.
Veteran Brandywine coach David Sidenbender, would not use that as an excuse, however.

“We’re a quiet team anyways,” he said. “We didn’t start making noise until we were down 8-1 yesterday. They are just learning how to play the game. From one day to the next you just don’t know what you are going to get.”

Sidenbender also said that a lack of defense has hurt his team at times.

“If we field the ball in certain spots it’s a different game,” he said. “We make things more and more difficult on ourselves and then the pitchers have to be more precise. You walk a guy here or there and then you give up a hit and it’s a big inning. We just have to make the plays when we have a chance to make the plays.”

Hyatt was 1-for-2 on the day with the home run and five RBIs, while Blaske was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles.

Scanlon finished the game 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI. Jason Turner added two hits and two RBIs.

Joe Godfrey had both hits for Brandywine as he singled and doubled.

The Bobcats are scheduled to host a round robin tournament on Saturday.

After Friday’s doubleheader against Three Rivers, the Chieftains are scheduled to play South Bend Washington at Coveleski Stadium on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Admission is $5 per person.

Brandywine 000 00 – 0 2 4

Dowagiac 103 6x – 10 9 1

WP – Aaron Blaske and Brett Scanlon

LP – Dustin Bell and Brian Exner

2B: Joe Godfrey (B), Blaske (D) 2, Scanlon (D) 2

HR: Zac Hyatt (D)

Varsity records: Brandywine 8-8, Dowagiac 6-5