Benjamin Logan baseball (17-7) needed every bit of a 9-inning game to squeeze past Valley View in the District semifinal matchup at Benjamin Logan High School Thursday night. A Cohen Archer squeeze in the 9th inning was laid down perfectly and allowed for Xavier Allen to scamper home, sending Valley View home for the year and the Raiders on to the District Final at Arcanum High School Saturday at 11 a.m.

On the mound for the Raiders in the contest was Jacob Hawley, The first-team all-conference pitcher spun five innings of three-run baseball, only two earned. Hawley punched out 9 en route to a 16-strikeout day from Ben Logan pitching.

Central Buckeye Conference Mad River player of the year Adam Tinsman manned the mound for the final 4 frames of the game and picked up the win in relief performance.

Ben Logan started the game off on the right foot, making use of Valley View miscues. Archer was hit by a pitch and stole both second and third base, being brought home by a Oliver Morse RBI single to take an early advantage in the contest.

Morse would later be brought around the base-paths to make the score 2-0 two innings into the contest.

It was not until the fifth inning that the Spartans were able to break through the Hawley pitching. They pushed across 3 runs in the top of the frame to take a one-run advantage into the bottom of the fifth inning.

The lead did not last long, as the Ben Logan offense answered immediately, once more taking advantage of free base runners. A walk of Xavier Allen came back to haunt them when Parker Yelton ripped an RBI double to knot the game at 3 apiece heading into what was assumed to be the final two innings of the game.

The Morse and Yelton RBI knocks would be the only two hits that were recorded by the Raiders on the day, with the Raiders making the most of their limited contact.

It was not until the bottom of the ninth inning that either squad was in position to push across the winning run. Xavier Allen reached once more on an error before Tinsman and Micah Gregg were intentionally walked to load the bases.

The walks and error set up the eventual game winner from Archer, laying down the bunt and propelling the Raiders into the final.

The district final will be played Saturday Morning at Arcanum High School against Roger Bacon. The game is slated to throw the first pitch at 11 a.m.