Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

AID — The Symmes Valley Vikings’ pitchers are on strike.
In this case, being on strike means throwing strikes and Devin Renfroe was holding the lead sign as he pitched a three-hitter as the Vikings beat the Miller Falcons 12-3 on Monday in the Division IV sectional tournament.
Renfroe struck out nine, walked just one and none of the runs were earned.
“Devin threw the ball well. He threw strikes. Our pitches have been throwing well. We’re not walked many batters,” said Vikings’ coach Chad Renfroe.
“We made a couple of mistakes, but it didn’t hurt us in the long run. That’s the first game all year we’ve had more than one or two errors. We gave them all three runs.”
The Vikings now travel to No. 2 seed Waterford at 5 p.m. on Tuesday in the sectional finals.
The Vikings took a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Layken Gothard doubled, moved up on a wild pitch and scored when Nick Klaiber reached on an error.
Klaiber went to second on a wild pitch and Hunter Adams had an RBI single.
After Miller got three unearned runs in the third, the Vikings scored twice in the bottom of the inning.
Derik Brace walked, Klaiber was hit by a pitch and Adams and Austin Mannon followed with RBI singles.
The Vikings blew the game open with eight runs in the sixth on two hit batsmen, three walks, two errors and a key two-run single by Brace.
Adams was 2-4 to lead the Vikings’ 7-hit attack.
Miller 003 000 0 = 3 3 4
Sym. Valley 202 008 x = 12 7 4
Trey Hettich and Bollmer. Devin Renfro and Derik Brace. W-Renfroe (K-9, BB-1, ER-0). L-Hettich. Hitting-Miller: Colby Bartley 1-4, Bollmer 1-4, Lucas Dishon 1-3; SV: Layken Gothard 1-3 2B, Derik Brace 1-4, Hunter Adams 2-4, Austin Mannon 1-4, Devin Renfro 1-3, Brock Carpenter 1-4.