An eight-run fourth inning that saw the Dowagiac baseball team send 14 hitters to the plate, propelled the Chieftains to their first Bryan Frazier Memorial Tournament championship for the first time since 2008.

Dowagiac defeated Buchanan 14-4 in five innings. The Chieftains won the tournament opener against Benton Harbor 6-2. The Bucks defeated Hartford to advance to the title game.

Dowagiac (7-22-1) scored all eight runs after Buchanan with two outs.

Matt Smith doubled to score Cal Cox, who reached on an error, to get the rally started. Austin Broda, Logan Pellow, Dean Klann, Cox and Brett Scanlon all drove in runs in the inning. Todd McIntyre and Garrett Stark also had hits in the inning.

Pellow and Scanlon both had two-run singles.

“Coaching is easy when you do that,” Dowagiac coach Bob Turner said about the fourth inning.

After the Bucks had scored a run in the top of the first, the Chieftains scored four times in the bottom half of the inning to seize control of the contest.

Klann, Scanlon, Smith and McIntyre each drove in a run with a single.

Buchanan cut the lead to 4-2 with a run in the second and tied the game with two more runs in the top of the third.

Dowagiac rallied to reclaim the lead in the bottom of the third as Pellow drove in a run with a single and the second run came across the plate thanks to the lone error of the game.

Ryne Willming, who worked six innings against Otsego Friday night, came on in relief of starter Brody Froehlich and shut the door on the Bucks. Froehlich and Willming allowed just five hits.

Willming came in in the third inning with the bases loaded and one out. He got the first batter to pop up to Stark at first and then got the next hitting to ground into a force play at second.

“He pitched six fabulous innings only giving up two and then we let the game get away,” Turner said about Willming’s performance Friday night. “So I yelled out at him today to ask him how his arm was. He said it was good, so he comes in and gives it all he’s got.”

In the opening game, Dowagiac scored two runs in the third and sixth innings, along with single runs in the second and fifth to take a 6-2 win over Benton Harbor.

Logan Pellow had a double for the Chieftains.

Cox picked up the victory as he tossed a four-hitter with a career-high 17 strikeouts.

Bryan Frazier Memorial

First game

Benton Harbor 001 010 0 – 2 4 2

Dowagiac 012 012 x – 6 7 1

Cal Cox (D) and Brett Scanlon; Steve Fletcher (L) and Willie Wilson

2B: Logan Pellow (D)

Championship game

Buchanan 112 00 – 4 5 1

Dowagiac 402 8 – 14 18 0

Brody Froelich, Ryne Willming (W) and Brett Scanlon

2B: Cal Cox (D), Matt Smith (D)

Record

Dowagiac 7-22-1