Eagles blast Cooter 14-4 in 5 innings

~ Oran clouted three home runs and won its sixth straight sectional.

Oran's baseball team took a brief hiatus from the state playoffs last year, but if Wednesday's Class 1 sectional game at Oran was any indication the Eagles are back with a vengeance.

The Eagles pounded three home runs en route to a 14-4 five-inning rout of Cooter.

Up next is a quarterfinal Friday against Saxony Lutheran at the Perryville City Park. The Crusaders beat Thayer 14-6 on Wednesday.

Caleb Seyer and Joey Williams pounded two-run home runs, and Chase Seyer added a solo shot. The Eagles had 10 hits in all.

"We're really solid all the way down the lineup," sophomore catcher Caleb Seyer said. "We all can hit the ball."

The offensive explosion from the Eagles (24-4) helped minimize a poor pitching performance from senior starter Austin Dumey, who led the Eagles in wins and innings pitched this season.

Cooter (15-12) seemed to find holes all over the field in Dumey's two-plus innings. Dumey gave up seven hits in 2 2/3 innings and all four runs. Cautious base running likely saved Dumey from giving up several more runs.

"It wasn't like he was plum off," Oran coach Mitch Wood said. "He was just all over it. You have to figure out how the umpire's calling it and adjust."

While the Cooter hitters greeted Dumey rudely, Oran's offense made Cooter starter Aaron McCaig's outing even shorter. McCaig was yanked after facing two batters in the top of the third without getting an out. Williams had the knockout punch with a two-run home run just over the left field fence.

By the time the Eagles were retired in the third their lead was 8-1. Oran scored three runs apiece in the second and third innings, with both frames aided by Cooter errors. Caleb Seyer's homer came in the second, a mammoth blast which left Cooter's left fielder frozen in amazement.

"I hit it more from the end of the bat," Seyer said. "I just was trying to get the runner in from third, but I'll take it."

Cooter cut the lead to 8-4 after three innings, with senior Paul Bucher relieving Dumey. Oran bounced back with another three runs in the fourth, with Bucher providing the big blow on a two-run double.

"Every time they scored we answered in our inning," Wood said.

Chase Seyer started the decisive fifth inning with a one-out solo homer into the woods in right field. It was the second consecutive game with a home run for Chase Seyer. Chris Asmus, the No. 8 hitter, pushed Oran's lead to 10 with a two-out, two-run single up the middle.

Bucher allowed just one hit and one walk over the final 2 1/3 innings for the win. Bucher had thrown just 20 innings this season but had an ERA of 1.05.

"He threw a lot of junk, a lot of curveballs," Wood said. "But he threw strikes. That was the key."

Caleb Seyer led Oran with three hits and four RBIs. Every hitter in Oran's lineup reached base at least once, and eight different players had hits.

"We hit the ball well," Wood said. "The pitching and defense didn't do as well as I thought we would, but we got the job done."

Getting the job done has been automatic lately for the Eagles in the sectional round. Oran improved to 6-0 in its past six sectional games.

Oran 14, Cooter 4, 5 innings

Oran 233 33 -- 14 10 0

Cooter 013 00 -- 4 8 4

WP -- Paul Bucher, 3-1. LP -- Andrew McCaig. HR -- Caleb Seyer (O), Chase Seyer (O), Joey Williams (O). 2B -- Alex Chasteen (O), Bucher (O), Jeremy McCaig (C). Multiple hits -- Oran, Ca. Seyer 3-4; Cooter, Hinklin 2-3. Records -- Oran 24-4, Cooter 15-12.