Seymour’s baseball team scored two runs in the first inning and four in the third and went on to a 6-2 win over Trinity Lutheran at American Legion Field Monday afternoon.

Owls coach Jeremy Richey said it was nice to get the early lead.

“It was good to get those six runs and be able to play with the lead and get some guys out there that haven’t played a whole lot,” Richey said. “That was nice that the seniors got to play the whole game, so it’s a good night. It wasn’t pretty, we made some mistakes. We had three errors. We didn’t play as clean as we have been lately, but it’s good to get a win on a special night like Senior Night.”

Those seniors were Charlie Longmeier, Vince Wilson, Will Gray, Aiden Darlage, Grayson Key, Treyton McCormick, Skyler Cockerham and John Capistran.

Jack VonDielingen is also a senior, who suffered a knee injury earlier in the season and was unable to play.

Richey said that group has meant a lot to the program over the past four seasons.

“This group has been great. First of all, they’re great young men that show up every day. They had a lot of expectations coming here with all the success they had when they were younger. They’ve shown up to practice every day, and worked hard. They’re very coachable,” he said. “Some of these guys are three-year starters, and there are a lot of two-year starters out of this group. They’ve done a lot for us, and they’ve kind of taken on the role of mentoring these young guys that are going to take over for them next year. They’re just great program kids.”

Bret Perry opened the bottom of the first with a walk, and he stole second. Longmeier tripled into right-center field to score Perry, and Longmeier scored when Darlage grounded into an infield out.

In the third inning, Perry, Wilson, Longmeier and Darlage hit consecutive singles that produced three runs, and Cockerham singled to drive home Darlage.

The Cougars’ offense came to life in the fourth inning when Nathan Voelker, Jackson Trueblood and Sage Broughton hit back-to-back-to-back singles. Voelker scored on a throwing error by the pitcher, and Broughton scored when Drake Goodpaster grounded out to first.

Trinity loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but a double play and strikeout ended the inning. After the first two batters struck out in the top of the seventh, Trinity again loaded the bags on two hits and a fielder’s choice-error, but another fielder’s choice ended the game.

Trinity had 12 base runners, and coach Ben Kleber said his team’s inability to drive them in again hurt his team.

“That’s kind of been our MO lately, get them on base and not find a way to get them over and get them in,” he said. “I was really disappointed in our energy in the first three innings. We looked like it was the same old song-and-dance, like we were just going to roll over, so it was nice to see us battle and get a couple runs.”

“Last inning, with two outs we got something going so it was nice to see,” Kleber added. “That’s what you’ve got to do against good teams. That’s why we enjoy playing these guys. We know we’re going to see a good ball club, and it’s going to get us ready for post-season play.”

Darlage pitched the first six inning and had 12 strikeouts, allowed one walk and four hits.

Darlage tied his career-high in strikeouts.

“I was getting them out with a lot of slider-changeups, and I was working in my fastball for some good strikes, so I was able to set it up pretty well,” Darlage said. “It was a good win. The team played well tonight. My brothers always have my back in the field so I’m able to pitch with confidence. We strung some runs together and had a good night. We’ll get better in practice.”

Richey said, “I thought (Darlage) was pretty good tonight, other than throwing a couple of them away. He had to work a little bit more than he did last time out at Jennings County. Today he had to get himself out of some messes, and they made some plays behind him. The double play was a big one with the bases loaded and nobody out. That’s a play you work on a lot but don’t see very often.”

On the double play, the ball was hit back to Darlage, who threw to catcher Gray, who stepped on the plate and threw to first to Cockerham.

Wilson and Longmeier both had two hits for the Owls, and Perry, Darlage, McCormick and Cockerham each had one hit. Perry and Longmeier both scored two runs, and Longmeier and Darlage both had two RBI.

Trueblood had two hits and scored a run to lead Trinity. Voelker, Broughton, Goodpaster, and Nathan Finke all had one hit, and Goodpaster had the only RBI.

Seymour (13-3) will travel to Southwestern (Hanover) today, and Trinity (7-10) will be home to Christian Academy today.