By Dylan Hefflinger

BOWLING GREEN- Anthony Wayne, ranked No. 4 in the latest poll, used a big 5th inning to defeat Fremont Ross (14-10) 7-1 for a Division I sectional championship.

With the Generals down 1-0 in the bottom of the 5th, pitcher Jake Chipka, the nine-hole hitter, reached on an error by the Little Giants' talented shortstop junior Tyler Wolf. University of Toledo recruit Deion Tansel then laced a single, the first hit of the game for AW, to put runners on first and second.

After an error scored a run and a walk loaded the bases, Lourdes College recruit Matt Olsavsky hit a run-scoring single to put the Generals on top 2-1 and a walk to Rochester University recruit Josh Lindke added another run. Adrian college recruit Jordan Nell had the big blow with a 2-RBI single with two outs to put the Generals on top 6-1.

Senior Jake Chipka shut the Little Giants down the remainder of the game. Chipka went the distance allowing one unearned run on six hits and one walk, while striking out 4. Chipka featured an upper-70s fastball that reached 82 mph and he also got his off-speed over the plate consistently.

The Little Giants scored their lone run in the top of the 5th to take a brief lead. Senior Clay Barron started the inning off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior Brandon Weiker and a single from Spencer Conklin put runners on the corners.

With one out, Defiance College recruit Bryce McConnell hit a shot to senior second basemen Josh Meyers who tagged the runner going to second, but overthrew the first basemen to allow Barron to score.

Anthony Wayne put the final touches on the game in the 6th inning with a lead-off double by Tansel, who scored on an RBI double from senior Hunter Lonseth to put the Generals up 7-1.

Anthony Wayne (20-1) advances to the districts at Bowling Green on May 17th at 7:00 p.m. to take on 7th-ranked Ashland (19-2), which advanced to districts behind the dominant performance of Stetson University recruit Adam Schaly's no-hitter, with 16 strikeouts.