Trailing Deep Run 6-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning of the Central Region baseball championship, prospects look pretty bleak for the Hanover Hawks. But over their final innings on offense, Hanover batters forced Deep Run to make five pitching changes over a period of two innings by scoring 13 unanswered runs and flying away with the championship trophy 14-6.

Throughout the first three innings, the pitching of Deep Run starter Owen Beightol held the Hanover bats in check. Except for a Laine Denton homer in the bottom of the second, the Hawks saw little time on base.

To add to their dilemma, Hanover started with first baseman Austin Erb on the mound. Erb had difficulty locating and walked the first two Deep Run batters. The Wildcats Robert Orlan then picked up an RBI driving in Chris Copleand. Next up, Jake Snyder sent a Erb pitch over the left field wall for a two-run homer and a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the second, Deep Run added to their lead when Tyler Benson, the first batter up, took the first pitch from Erb and sent it over the wall in left.

Though Denton scored in the bottom of the inning, Deep Run answered in the top of the third when Seth Greene singled up the middle to drive in Orlan and give the Wildcats a 5-1 lead.

In the top of the fourth, Hanover head coach Charlie Dragum sent senior Tyler Kane to the mound in relief, but a single from Orlan drove in Beightol for what looked to be an insurmountable 6-1 Deep Run lead.

But suddenly in the bottom of the fourth Hanover’s bats came alive. Erb led off with a single off the center field wall and he was followed by a double from Denton. When Beightol attempted to pick off Denton at second the throw bounced to the grass and Erb scored.

With one out, Jared Lipscombe sent a shot to second and beat out the throw to first while driving Denton home to close the Deep Run margin to 6-3.

Following a walk of Beau Flinchum, Beightol was replaced on the mound by Dalton Renick. But Thornton Glazebrook insured Renick got off to a rough start by bouncing a shot high in the infield that allowed him to reach and load the bases.

Renick then walked Bryson Kemler pushing Lipscombe home and pulling Hanover within two, 6-4.

A Renick wild pitch signaled a miscue from the Hanover players when Glazebrook took off from second but Flinchum never left third causing the runner to be easily tagged out.
But Hanover reloaded the bases when Renick walked Jeb Weymouth.

Deep Run Coach Grant Odell had seen enough and replaced Renick with Tyler Benson. But a wild pitch from Benson allowed Flinchum and Kemler to score and tie the game 6-6.

The Wildcats finally got out of the inning when Jake Mayers flew out to right.
In the top of the fifth, Hanover brought senior Justin Thorn to the mound and the Wildcats never threatened again.

In the bottom of the fifth, Erb found his redemption for the rough start on the mound when he led off with a homer over the center field wall to score the go-ahead run for Hanover. Denton followed with a double that bounced through the glove of third baseman Jeff Griffith then scored on a bouncing single for Eric Mayers for an 8-6 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Hanover bats continued to burn the Wildcats. Deep Run brought Griffith to the mound to start off the inning and Glazebrook led off by getting redemption for his earlier base-running error. Not known as a strong hitter, Glazebrook delivered the back-breaker for Hanover by driving a shot over the left field wall for a 9-6 lead. Weymouth reached on a shot that hopped over the second baseman then scored on a wild pitch to third.

Jake Mayers singled past short and scored on a double by Denton that put Hanover ahead 11-6 and brought the fifth Deep Run pitcher to the mound, Clifton Bruce.

But Bruce did not last much longer than his predecessors. A double up the right line by Thorn drove in Denton and Erb for a 13-6 lead. Then Zach Broaddus, running in place of Thorn, scored when Flinchum doubled off the wall in left.

By becoming the Central Region champions, Hanover will host a state championship quarterfinal game on Tuesday evening.