DEAN JACKSON
WZBD.com
FORT WAYNE — Blackhawk Christian threw the first blows, but Bellmont kept the host Braves on the ropes the rest of the night in a 13–3 win in six innings.
After falling behind 2‑0, Bellmont (2‑2‑1) answered with three of its own in the second and scored the game’s next 13 runs.
Bellmont had five nights with multiple hits. Oliver Werling went 2 for 5 with 4 RBIs. Beau Baker was 2 for 4 with 1 RBI.
Kaigan Lee hit 2 for 2, with 2 RBIs and a home run. Matt Bleeke went 2 for 3 with 1 RBI. Layne LeMaster was 2-for-3.
Dan Selking added a 1‑for‑1 line with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored, rounding out one of Bellmont’s strongest offensive performances of the season.
Blackhawk Christian (2‑5) opened with a leadoff single and a run‑scoring double into the left‑center gap, then added another on a groundout to take a 2–0 lead in the first.
“They came out ready to go and put up a couple in the first inning,” Bellmont assistant coach Aaron Baker noted. “Our guys responded. They didn’t get down.”
Bellmont bats went dormant for a while but were far from finished.
“We had a couple of quiet innings there in the middle, but we kept battling and kept going after them,” he said. “We finally got to their starter and turned some things around.”
Once Bellmont pushed ahead 5–2, the game changed. The Braves kept adding pressure, stringing together hard contact, taking extra bases, and capitalizing on defensive mistakes to break the game open.
Bellmont finished with 10 hits, 13 runs, eight RBI, and six stolen bases, widening the margin as the game moved into the late innings.
The pitching held its ground. Starter Layne LeMaster worked four innings, allowing nine hits and three runs, two earned, with four strikeouts and one walk. Baker said LeMaster’s mix carried him.
“He’s a guy who has good command and control over all of his pitches,” Baker said. “We can trust him to throw all of his off‑speed for strikes. When he mixes it well, he can get guys off balance.”
Baker and Jack Schultz handled the final inning without allowing a hit or a run.
Baker said the matchup was useful for his group. “They were a good challenge for us,” he said. “They’ve got a few good players that can really swing the bat.”
Bellmont now turns to Bluffton. “Finding the bats, getting it going, and finding that momentum and confidence at the plate are going to be big going into tomorrow,” Baker said.
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