photo by: Photo by Cody Nespor

Wheeling Central starter Landon Prager delivers a pitch during the Maroon Knights’ 10-7 win over Bellaire Wednesday.

ELM GROVE — The weather was cold but Wheeling Central’s bats were red-hot Wednesday afternoon at the J.B. Chambers I-470 complex.

The ever-improving Maroon Knights banged out 11 hits in besting Bellaire, 10-7. Coach Jason Rowe’s youthful charges broke open a close 5-4 contest with a five-run sixth inning.

“We are swinging the bats really well right now, even during our tough loss at Cambridge last night,” Rowe said. “Eleven hits are a good night’s work. We are on a good ride right now.”

“Landon (Prager) was solid on the mound for us. He gave us six quality innings,” he added. “We got a little sloppy in the field in the seventh inning, but it was a nice win.”

Central improved to 8-7 and will host Cameron this afternoon.

Prager fanned five and walked four. The crafty sophomore yielded six hits. Zac Conner worked the seventh, striking out two and walking a like amount.

Central’s sixth-inning uprising started thanks to a Bellaire error. After a strikeout, Peyton Toepfer walked before brother Michael Toepfer singled to load the bases.

Ben Foster delivered an RBI single. Catcher Gary Hatfield coaxed a walk to force in the second run. A wild pitch allowed another Knight to cross the plate before junior ace Peyton Hildebrand capped the frame with a two-run single to make it a 10-4 issue heading into the seventh. Bellaire, however, didn’t go quietly.

Big Reds’ junior standout Jake Heatherington drew a base-on-balls to open the inning. After a strikeout, Kaden Banal walked. Junior dandy Brayden Roth plated a run via a fielder’s choice.

A wild pitch brought home another Reds’ run. Luke Heatherington singled, setting the table for an RBI single from Landon Preston, bringing Bellaire to within 10-7. Jaiden Kesterson was beaned but Conner closed the door with a strikeout.

Luke Heatherington started on the hill for Bellaire. He struck out five and walked one in three innings of work.

Southpaw Lex Wilhelm finished the final three frames and pitched quite effectively but was the victim of some tough luck. He fanned six and walked two.

“We lost to a good team tonight. They are really playing well right now,” Bellaire head coach Josh Kernik noted. “You have to bring your “A” game if you want to beat them. We did not do that tonight.

“Two innings hurt us and both of them started with errors, but I am proud of our kids’ efforts. We got down and we kept fighting back,” he added. “We are still a young team but I feel we are trending upward.”

Bellaire is now 4-8.

Both teams tallied twice in the second.

Bellaire used an RBI single from Preston, a single from Kesterson, a Knight error and a wild pitch for its two runs.

Central, meanwhile, received four straight singles off the bats off Hildebrand, rising freshman Seth Cover, Caden Ondrejko and Eli Tucker to knot matters at 2-2.

The Maroon Knights added three more runs in the third. Foster doubled, followed by a Hatfield single. Both scored on a Bellaire error. Tucker brought home the third run on a groundout.

Bellaire cut the gap to 5-4 with a pair of runs in the fourth. Kesterson doubled and Joey Lewis singled. Lewis stole second and Kesterson came home on the throw down. Jakob Dowling crushed a double to score Lewis.

Michael Toepfer checked in with three hits while Foster and Hildebrand each had two.

“We are still very young. We started three freshmen in the field today and used two sophomore pitchers,” Rowe said. “It is a group that has a bright future but right now we are focused on Cameron and then playing Toronto for an OVAC title.”

Preston and Kesterson led Bellaire’s seven-hit attack with two safeties each.