SPENCERVILLE — The teams — Jefferson and Spencerville — couldn’t have asked for a better spring day to play a baseball game, with brilliant sunshine and pleasant temperatures.

The visiting Wildcats were just as brilliant, continuing to hit the cover off the baseball Tuesday afternoon in crunching the host Bearcats 11-1 in a 5-inning Northwest Conference e3ncounter.

“I looked at some stats last night and we had scored 110 runs in our last nine games; throw in the 11 tonight. We have been able to score runs,” Jefferson coach Troy Montenery said. “It’s not just one or two guys doing it, either; we’re getting good production up and down the lineup. Today, our No. 6 hitter (Matt Gerdeman) and No. 9 (Matt Antalis) both hit home runs, as well as our third hitter, Josh (Miller). That puts a lot of pressure on an opponent and it gives us a lot of confidence that the second or third time through the lineup, we are going to score some runs.”

In the early going, neither team could get on the board as the first two innings were a pitcher’s duel between Jefferson starter Craig Carder (4-0; 3 innings, 3walks, 4 Ks) and Spencerville starter Kory Layman (3-2; 5 IPs, 9 hits, 11 runs, 10 earned, 1 base-on-balls, 2 strikeouts), with only Gerdeman’s 2-out double in the second the only blemish.

That changed quickly in the top of the third. Pinch-hitter Austin Clarkson was hit by a pitch. An error on a pickoff play put him at second, from where he scored on a 1-out grounder up the gut by Cory Bastian. Sean Fisher was hit by a pitch. Bastian stole third. A pickoff attempt at first went awry, with Bastian scoring and Fisher heading to third. Miller (2 runs) then went yard for a 2-run shot over the left-field fence and a 4-0 spread.

“Both pitchers were making quality pitches, especially the first two innings. There was one difference; we didn’t hit the ones their pitchers were throwing and they hit Kory’s hard, especially after the first two innings,” Spencerville coach Doug Stetler noted. “When you swing the bats they way Jefferson does, you makes things happen. We made some errors, too. Though they didn’t mean unearned runs, it just makes you less confident.”

The Bearcats (4-12, 1-5 NWC) tried to rally in the home half, getting a 1-out walk to Jarod Rex, a 2-out steal and a free pass to Layman. However, Jeremy Hudson flied out to center to end the threat.

The visitors (14-4, 6-2 NWC) went up 6-0 in the fourth. Taylor Hesseling singled to left-center; pinch-runner Adam Wollenhaupt was erased at second on a Carder groundout but Antalis launched a round-tripper that cleared right of the scoreboard in left.

The Black Attack got one back in the home half against Miller, on in relief. Tyler Deitering chopped a single to center. Nathan Rice was hit by a pitch. Trent Townsend forced Rice at second. Matt Wirth reached out for a hit to right-center to plate Deitering and keep two runners on but Miller got out of the inning with no more damage.

The Red and White sent nine batters to the dish in the fifth. A throwing error allowed Miller to reach second. Ryan Kortokrax beat out an infield hit to short. Aaron Schuerman did the same, scoring Miller; an error on the sequence put runners at second and third. Gerdeman then launched his round-tripper, a 3-run blast to the left of the scoreboard for a 10-1 lead. Hesseling was hit by a pitch and Jordan Jettinghoff walked. He was forced at second on a ground ball by Antalis. Antalis stole second; pinch-runner Mike Rahrig proceeded to swipe home on the sequence for the final run.

“Craig and Josh were solid again. They were both around the plate and had a lot of strikeouts,” Montenery added. “They can be confident knowing that if they keep making quality pitches and keep our opponent off the scoreboard, eventually, they will get some runs to back them. It’s a great luxury to have the potent lineup we have. It’s good to see Gerdeman and Antalis, as seniors, living up to expectations. We’re doing that as a team.”

When Miller sent down the Bearcat side — all looking at strike 3 — the game was over.

“I was concerned coming in that we wouldn’t be ready to play, with losing in the tournament Saturday and struggling as we are. We were ready to go,” Stetler added. “However, it’s tough to maintain a good attitude through this. When Jefferson scored their runs in the fourth, you could see it; it took the wind out of our sails. We have a lot of youngsters in the lineup and we’ll just keeping battling.”

Both teams return to action Thursday: Jefferson playing host to Ada and Spencerville visiting Paulding.