HAMLER — Ty Sickmiller is not an imposing pitcher when he throws the ball. He does not have an overpowering fastball.

He does, however, have the ability to throw strikes with several pitches.

The tall, slender right-hander permitted a leadoff single to Mohawk’s Tyler Hayman, but no Mohawk hitter reached base for the rest of the game.

Sickmiller retired the last 21 straight Mohawk batters, and Leipsic played successful small ball in a 5-0 win in the semifinal game of the Division IV regional baseball tournament at Patrick Henry High School Friday afternoon.

With the win, the Vikings (25-6) will meet Van Wert Lincolnview (22-8) for the regional title Saturday at 2 p.m. The winner will earn a berth in the state tournament. Mohawk finished its season at 19-12.

Leipsic manager Darren Henry said that Sickmiller has not permitted a run in three tournament games, wins over Holgate (8-0), Miller City (5-0), and now Mohawk.

“Ty was Ty,” Henry said. “That’s what he does, he just keeps you off-balance. He was tight today and he mixed things up, changed speeds, and hit his spots. We had to make plays behind him, and the defense was solid.

“I don’t think he’s given up a run in three games in the tournament,” Henry added. “Sixty-some pitches he had, that’s what he does, it’s nice.”

Mohawk manager Eric Hoover said that Sickmiller’s ability to change speeds kept his team off-balance the entire day.

“He had outstanding control,” Hoover said. “I thought the zone was very consistent, it was tight, but it was very consistent, I thought. He was around the plate with a variety of pitches, and he probably threw about 50-50 off-speed pitches, it looked like. We could never get any solid contact on it.”

Hoover said that his team has faced some outstanding pitching this season, but Sickmiller ranks right up there.

“We’ve seen some good pitching but he’s up there certainly at the top,” Hoover said. “He has some good whip in his arm and his fastball moves a little bit. It’s hard for us to emulate that too much in practice. He did a very good job of controlling the game.”

Leipsic simply played small ball to down the Warriors. In fact, the Vikings scored a run in the third inning on a walk, a stolen base, and two ground outs against Mohawk starter Landen Snyder.

From there, the bottom of the Leipsic order bunted the ball four straight times in the fourth inning and all four reached base with a run coming on a suicide squeeze from freshman Quin Schroeder.

“It just kinda worked out,” Henry said about the bunting.  “The guys in the bottom can bunt a little bit and it just kinda worked out that way. I wasn’t comfortable with the swings we were getting, and I said let’s give it a shot and see what happens.”

Henry felt that the bottom of the order set the table for the top.

“They got on the bases for the top of the order, and Quin (Schroeder) laid down a perfect suicide squeeze,” Henry said. “We talked about it when he came down there and I felt pretty good about doing it. He handles the bat good for a freshman.”

From there, Trey Schroeder walked to drive in a run and Lorenzo Walther singled home another. The four-run outburst gave Leipsic a 5-0 lead.

“We still had chances to win,” Hoover said. “They push one across on a ground ball then our bunt defense really let us down in the fourth inning. It’s not like they were hitting the cover off the ball or anything. He gave us a chance to make plays and we didn’t get that done defensively.”

Hayman replaced Snyder in the fifth on the hill and shut Leipsic down the rest of the way.

Hoover said that Snyder wasn’t quite as sharp as he has been.

“Landen didn’t have his command that he’s had the last three games, there’s no doubt about that,” Hoover said. “He was a lot more up and down and in and out. He didn’t have the command and that happens. He’s been lights out for three games.”

Hoover added that Hayman was outstanding.

“He hasn’t got to pitch a whole lot,” Hoover said. “He was a little newer to pitching. Last year would have been nice to get him on the mound so he was a year behind, but he did an outstanding job for us.”

Box score

Leipsic      001 400 0       5       6       0

Mohawk   000 000 0       0       1       4

WP: Ty Sickmiller (4 SO, 0 W)

LP: Landen Snyder (5 SO, 3 W)

HR: None.

Triples: None.

Doubles: None.

Multiple hits: None.

Records: Leipsic 25-6; Mohawk 19-12.

Next: Leipsic vs. Van Wert Lincolnview, Division IV regional final, at Patrick Henry High School, Saturday.