(From Dubois) Some people recognize lifetime milestones in different ways than others. And some truly practice the age-old motto that it's better to give than to receive. Last night, Dubois County Bombers ace pitcher Ryan Dills celebrated his 21st birthday at League Stadium by giving his summer teammates the chance to play one more game together before going their separate ways. 
     Dills baffled Madisonville for 8 1/3 innings, holding the hard-hitting Miners to two singles, striking out nine, while leading his team to a 4-3 victory. The win squares the best-of-three OVL Championship Series at one game apiece.
     Dills, whose five victories led the OVL during the regular season, has now added a pair of playoff wins, running his combined season record to 7-0. He may have saved his best for last. In post-season action, the junior-to-be at Murray State has limited the opposition to one unearned run on 3 hits in 16 1/3 innings, striking out twenty while only allowing four walks. His ERA for those two games is 0.00.
     The Miners matched up with a top pitcher of their own. Mathias Brewers went 4-1 during the regular season, fresh off of a stellar playoff win of his own, shutting down the Fulton Railroaders 1-0 in game one of the semifinals.
     The two pitchers worked quickly and efficiently early on. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning. Dubois County's own Mark Giesler coaxed a leadoff walk from Brewers. Shortstop Jacob Snodgrass followed with a double, advancing the runner to third. Giesler scored on a ground out off the bat of his Dayton University college teammate Alec Mueller. A Cody Krumlauf single brought in Snodgrass, putting the home team up 2-0.
     Madisonville got on the board in the sixth inning. Catcher Andrew Tanous led off with a single, advanced on a walk, and scored on a Snodgrass throwing error to slice the Bomber lead to 2-1. With runners on the corners and two outs, Dills, Krumlauf, and Snodgrass completed a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play to terminate the threat.
     Dubois County added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings off of the Madisonville bullpen. In the seventh, Snodgrass' sacrifice fly scored Nick Gobert who had walked to lead off the inning. Morgan DePew drove in Devyn Newberry in the eighth, also with a sacrifice fly.
     Up 4-1, Dills came out of the dugout to start the ninth inning. Nolan Ramsey led off with a single, just the third Madisonville hit of the night. Dills stayed on to face cleanup hitter Brooks Benson. He retired him with his ninth strikeout of the contest. 
     But Dills was clearly tiring after 118 pitches. Konner Eck came out of the Dubois County bullpen with Ramsey on first and one out. Eck walked Shane Connahan, bringing the tying run to the plate.
     Coach Andy Lasher called for Zach Freeman to finish the game. At New Mexico State, Freeman carries the nickname of Houdini for good reason. 
     Ramsey dashed to third on a Freeman wild pitch and came home when Krumlauf's throw to third sailed into the outfield. Cory Finkler singled in Connahan, further reducing the Dubois County advantage to 4-3. With one down, the tying run was now on base. It was time for the escape artist's best act. 
     Freeman responded to the challenge. The next two Miners were retired on a routine fly to right and a pop to second, ending the ballgame and stretching the Championship Series to a deciding third game.
     Dills gets the win. He is now 2-0 in the playoffs, and 7-0 total for the summer. Brewers takes the loss to drop to 1-1 in post season, 5-2 overall. Freeman gets the save, his first in the post season to match one in the regular season.
     Andrew Tanous had a pair of singles, accumulating half of the Miners four hits.
     Mueller and Newberry had a pair of hits each for the Bombers.
     519 fans passed through the League Stadium turnstiles to witness a playoff baseball game last night. In all likelihood, many had no idea they were actually attending a birthday party for the league's top pitcher. 
     Surrounded by family and friends, Ryan Dills and his teammates will long remember the day he turned 21 years old.
     Dubois County and Madisonville will play the deciding game of the best-of-three OVL Championship Series tonight at League Stadium. Tickets are 2-for-1. First pitch is at 7 pm. Gates open at 6.