Prep Baseball Report

PBR Spotlight Game: Lima Shawnee at No.1 Defiance



By Dylan HefflingerAnthony Kidston, RHP

DEFIANCE- Anthony Kidston was dominant on the mound, tossing his second  no-hitter of the season for Defiance in a 1-0 victory over Western Buckeye League foe Lima Shawnee on Tuesday. The victory extends the Bulldogs' WBL win streak to 56 games.

Kidston, a Louisville commit, had his whole arsenal on display featuring an 84-86 mph fastball with movement, a mid-70s curveball, as well as an A+ changeup that is extremely hard to pick up out of the hand. The devastating changeup sat in the mid-70s and had a nice bite to it.

The 6-1 Kidston, who is ranked as the fourth best player in the 2012 class, finished allowing only two runners reaching base, one by a dropped third strike in the 1st and the other a walk in the 7th, which came after a questionable check swing with two strikes. Kidston struck out 13.

Standout junior Cory Wilder, who is ranked as the second best in the 2013 class, wasn't as sharp as Kidston, but was almost as effective. Wilder struck out eight in his six innings of work. The 6-3 righty Cory Wilder, RHPallowed five hits and seven walks.

Wilder was able to keep the Bulldogs off the scoreboard through the first five innings, although Defiance left runners in scoring position in every inning, stranding 10 for the game. Wilder, who seemed to get stronger as more Bulldogs reached base, was consistently in the 84-87 MPH range on the fastball and reared back and got the fastball up to 89 mph from the stretch. Wilder also featured a mid-70s curve that had a nice tight break, as well as a mid-70s change with downward movement.

The lone run of the game came in the 6th inning when Jacob Moore walked to lead off the bottom of the frame, the seventh free pass given up by Wilder, who had pitched himself out of jams most of the day. With one out, Wilder, who features a quick move to first, tried to pick off Moore but the throw was arrant and got past first baseman Zach Bailey allowing Moore to cruise into third.

After Dom Romero drew a full-count walk, Wilder struck out Austin Hancock for the second out, but the ball was in the dirt, allowing Romero to race to second. With first base open, Kidston, Defiance’s top hitter, came to the plate. Shawnee elected to pitch to the senior despite the fact he had beaten them last season on a solo-home run in the 7th inning at Shawnee. Kidston delivered again, this time with ball off the end of the bat, which actually popped the cap off the top. The slow roller up the middle reached Shawnee shortstop Trevor Anderson, but he slipped on the play, allowing Moore to score the winning run after Kidston reached safely with no throw to first.

Kidston went on to shut Shawnee down in the top of the 7th. After allowing a lead-off walk, the righty struck out Wilder and Trey Runneals before inducing a groundout to Moore at short, who threw the ball to Hancock at second for the final out.

Defiance (19-1) travels to Parkway on Thursday at 5 p.m. while Shawnee (10-14) hosts Allen East on Wednesday at 5 p.m.