Tigers string together a pair of wins

Central ended a nine-game winless drought Monday with a victory at Potosi.

The Tigers used a seventh-inning run on Tuesday to start their first winning streak of the season. Steve Miinch scored on a throwing error by the catcher to give Central a 4-3 home win over CBC in the first baseball game ever played on its new campus.

"It was a tough day to play with the wind," Central coach Steve Williams said. "It was a tough day to field, a tough day to hit, but as tough as it was, it was a well played game."

After a season mired with free bases, whether from walks or errors, Central (3-8-1) has finally started to settle down. Central starter Jake Welch walked only two batters, and in the field the Tigers made only one error.

"Most of us have had trouble throwing strikes, so that was pretty much the main thing I was concerned with," Welch said.

Welch pitched a complete game for the Tigers, picking up his second win. In seven innings, Welch allowed only six hits and kept his pitches down in the zone, forcing CBC (4-5) to hit the ball on the ground.

"Jake looked as good as he has all year today," Williams said. "He got ahead and threw strikes."

Adding a spark to Central's recent surge has been the infusion of some young talent into the lineup. Freshman Matt Hester started at shortstop and scored a run, and sophomore Ty Craft started at second base and had two hits for the Tigers.

"We have some young guys up and they've been a big help the last couple of days," Welch said. "We've got some wins with them."

Added Williams: "Not only have they brought a little enthusiasm, they've brought good play."

The Tigers built a 3-0 lead on single runs in the first, second and third innings. Hester scored on a Tony Leuckel sacrifice fly in the first, Tyler Blackwell scored on a wild pitch in the second and Patrick Slattery hit his second home run of the season in the third.

The Cadets scored in the fifth with the help of a pair of fielding miscues from Central. With a runner on first, Welch fielded a ground ball, but the Tigers were late covering second base for the force out, making it first and second with one out. Adam Gliebe followed with a hit which scored two runs when the ball was mishandled in the outfield.

In the seventh CBC's Justin Rahn hit a line drive up the middle with two outs to plate the tying run.

Central retaliated in the bottom of the seventh. Leuckel doubled with one out, and pinch-runner Miinch advanced to third when a pitch got away from the catcher. Miinch scored on the play when the catcher overthrew third .