By SCOTT NOVAK

Dowagiac Daily News

NILES — Six days after it started, the 11-year-old Ohio Valley Regional at Firemen’s Park wrapped up with the championship game Wednesday morning.

Top-seeded Schererville and No. 2 seed Southeastern Lexington battled 10 other teams and Mother Nature to reach the title game.

But on Wednesday morning, these two long-time rivals took the field to prove which was the better team.

It took just three and a half innings for Southeastern Lexington to claim the 2010 championship as it defeated the Shock 12-1.

Southeastern Lexington, which won the 9-year-old title in 2008 over at Howard Townships’ Pepper Martin Park, took command of the game in the very first inning.

After Ben Nisle staked Schererville to a 1-0 lead with a double in the top half of the opening inning, Lexington came back with a trio of runs in the bottom of the frame.

Chandler Dunn led off with a single and a stolen base before a pitch hit Austin Dick to put runners at first and second.

Kaelen Covington delivered a run-scoring single to knot the score at 1-1 before Schererville was able to collect two outs and looked to be poised to get out of the inning.

But a two-run double by Kyle Payton gave Southeastern Lexington a lead it would never give back.

After sending Schererville down in order in the top of the second, Lexington scored three more runs to up its advantage to 6-1.

With two outs, Dunn drew a walk and promptly stole second. Covington following with a run-scoring single before C.J. Bush singled and drove in the final run of the inning.

The Shock managed a single from Jarrett Lopez in the top of the third, but never seriously threatened to score.

Southeastern Lexington ended any thoughts Schererville had of a comeback in the bottom of the third as it scored its final five runs.

Kainen Bibb, who was the winning pitcher, singled and stole both second and third. Ben Wilcoxson lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Bibb with the game’s eighth run.

An error off the bat of pinch hitter Tyler Berge, followed by a stolen base and a wild pitch, set the plate once again for the Lexington offense.

Dunn delivered an RBI single and one out later, Covington doubled home another run.

For the fifth time in the Ohio Valley Regional and the ninth time on the season, Bush crushed an offering over the outfield fence to extend the lead to 11-1.

Following an error and a single by pinch hitter Parker McCoy, Bibb drove in the final run of the tournament with a single.

Schererville went down in order in the top of the fourth to complete the game.

Schererville 100 0 – 1 3 3

Lexington 336 x 12 12 0

WP – Kainen Bibb

LP – Bo Hofstra, Ben Nisle (3)

2B: Nisle (S), Kyle Payton (SL)

HR: C.J. Bush (SL)