OAKLAND — Northern scored 13 runs over the final four innings to rout Mettiki Coal, 13-5, in Game 1 of a three-game rec league championship series on Monday at Southern High.
Northern (14-4) can clinch the series on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Grantsville Park.
Leading the Northern charge in Game 1 was Emmitt Lipscomb, who was 3 for 5 with a double and four runs batted in. Blake Spiker was 2 for 5 with a double and scored twice and Landon Yoder doubled.
Northern used three arms and kept all under 45 pitches.
Caden Frazee allowed three unearned runs on a hit over two innings to start, Yoder surrendered a run on three hits in three innings of middle relief, and Hunter Beitzel gave up an unearned run on two hits spanning the final two frames.
Cole Parks doubled for Mettiki (11-5), and Jacob Welch scored two times.
Ryan Bird got the start for Mettiki and was tabbed with a no decision, allowing two runs on two hits in three innings. He struck out six and walked six.
The seven-team senior rec league was originally part of Hot Stove before a mid-season split.
The Hot Stove Junior Division elected to not have a playoff this year, meaning the Hot Stove League won’t crown a champion for only the second time since its first season in 1951.
The only other season without a champion was in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.