Rangers win “Backyard Battle”

The Dayton Rangers swept the Camden Redlegs in the 2^nd Annual “Backyard Battle” held appropriately at Springboro High School.

The Rangers newest rookie Luke Trubee got the call on the mound for Game 1. The former University of Dayton standout was impressive in his first outing, not allowing a hit until the 6^th inning in a 2-0 victory. The Rangers scored first in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Josh Cawein doubled to left center. After a single by Robert Riley to put runners on the corners, Jonmarc Lippincott singled to left field to plate Cawein for the 1-0 lead. Josh Cawein provided the only other offensive highlight in the game with a solo home run in the 6^th inning for a 2-0 final. Trubee picked up the win with a 7-inning complete game, allowing 2 hits, striking out 4.

A little more offense showed up for the second game, as the Rangers won 10-5. A pair of Springboro assistant coaches squared off on the mound as Shawn Schmitt (asst. varsity coach) toed the rubber for the Rangers, and Kevin Campbell (asst. JV coach) did the same for the Redlegs. The Redlegs took the early lead in this one. Jacob Robinson led off the game with a single and came around to score on a double by Brad Clark. Brandon Howard singled home Clark for a 2-0 Redlegs lead. The Rangers answered in the bottom of the first with four runs. Steve led off with a double. Cawein singled him home. And after a single by Lippincott, Shawn Schmitt launched a 3-run home run. In the second, Cawein and Lippincott singled in runs to give the Rangers a 6-2 lead. In the fourth inning, Josh Cawein (JV head coach) homered off his high school assistant for a 7-2 advantage. The Rangers upped their lead to 10-2 in the sixth as Josh Emmel, Clint Wolf, and Steve Marshall doubled in succession. Cawein’s RBI double, his 4^th hit and 4^th RBI of the game, finished off the scoring. Former Rangers players, Brad Clark and Justin McCurdy would provide RBI hits in the last inning for the Redlegs.

Shawn Schmitt improved his record to 6-1 on the year, scattering 8 hits and striking out 4 for his second complete game of the season.

Offensive highlights: Josh Cawein 6-for-7, 4 runs, 5RBI, 2 HR, 2 doubles; Steve Marshall 4-for-6, 3 runs, RBI, 2 doubles; Jonmarc Lippincott 3-for-6, 2RBI; Clint Wolf 2-for-2, double

Historical Notes: James Robinson is 1 run shy of 100 in the league. Aaron Armstrong needs 2 more runs scored to reach 100 in the league. Shawn popped up to third in the first inning of game one in his 500^th career at-bat.