SANFORD-MERIDIAN - Apr. 22, 2008 - Ogemaw Heights threw some untested pitchers into the water Tuesday at Sanford-Meridian, and after a shaky first inning in the opener the Falcons comported themselves well in an 8-6 and 6-0 sweep of the Mustangs.

Eric Noble started the opener, and after giving up six runs in the first inning shut Meridian out for the rest of his outing.

"We left Eric in after that," said Ogemaw coach Jeremiah Peace. "He's one of the guys that needs to learn to pitch and stay mentally tough. After that first inning was out of the way, Eric was tough and kept us right there."

Chris Bones pitched the final three innings, and earned the win as Josh Gildner's two-run double with two outs in the seventh inning snapped a 6-6 tie.

"Chris was really good ... on the mound," Peace said. "Down 6-2 (after the first inning) we were fine in the dugout. We had confidence we were going to hit enough to stay in the game."

Gildner's game-winner was his second double of the game. Nick Thorson also had two hits and Rick Dodridge had two hits and two RBIs.

In the second game, Blaine Powley spun a nine-hit shutout and helped himself by walking just one batter. He struck out five.

"It's great to see Blaine out there now," Peace said. "He's in his third year on varsity and at times the past two years, I know it'd been tough on him to keep practicing and not see the instant payoff. Right now, he's contributing every night. There's still room to grow and improve, but for him to toss a complete-game shutout for us is huge. We need to get through using as little pitching as possible because we have another league game on Thursday, and he did a great job."

Offensively, the Falcons got a home run from Aaron Kihn, a triple by Andrew Funsch and a double from Jake Wangler. Thorson also had two hits.

"Thorson ... really swung the bat well all night," Peace said. "Jake Wangler played great situational baseball and drove in two runs with deep sacrifice flies. Kihn's home run in the third had a lot of people talking: it cleared the pine trees behind the left field fence. It's been good to see him be able to hit with power after all he's battled through the past two years."

The Falcons improved to 9-4 and host Oscoda in an NEMC rain-out make-up on Thursday.