OTTUMWA — The only thing better than the weather Tuesday at Legion Memorial Field was the brilliance of Ben Ryder.

The Ottumwa sophomore blistered the picture-perfect blue sky with a mid-80s fastball and diving curve. Ryder baffled Washington, allowing only four hits and striking out 15 batters to lead the Bulldogs to a 7-3 non-conference victory. Ottumwa coach Ryan Woods couldn’t remember one of his pitchers ever recording 15 strikeouts in one game.

“Once we got the lead, I thought he was great,” Woods said. “He attacked the zone. He mixed in some curve balls. He continues to get better and better and that’s what we need.”

Ryder took advantage of an ample strike zone with his overpowering fastball. He recorded his third straight complete game win with only 107 pitches — 72 for strikes.

As the game wore on, Ryder only got stronger. The 6-7 sophomore struck out the side in both the sixth and seventh innings.

“I thought he was sharper late than early — that’s how he’s gone,” Woods said. “When we got the lead, he really attacked the strike zone. He really got after people.”

The spectacular performance is a continuation of Ryder’s maturation this season. Early in the year, Ryder struggled to find the strike zone consistently. Now, his ferocious fastball leaves a wake over the plate.

“I think it’s easier to start ahead of the batter,” Ryder said. “Then you can mix your pitches up.”

When Ryder didn’t register a strike, he was effectively wild. He beamed three batters on Monday, but it seemed to keep the Washington hitters from digging in too deep the rest of the game.

Ryder’s only hiccup came in the second inning. With the bases loaded, Washington’s No. 9 hitter Casey Negrette dribbled an infield hit to score the first run of the game. Mike Kahler followed with a liner to second that took a bad hop into right field to make the score 3-0.

The Bulldogs responded in the fourth inning with three runs of their own. After the first Ottumwa run scored on a balk by Demon pitcher Martin Ponce, Brian Delker knocked in Weston Mitchell with a sacrifice fly to center to cut the deficit to 3-2. Ryder helped his cause by lacing a single down the left field line to knot the score.

The youthful Washington pitching corps couldn’t keep the game close. P.J. Shaeffer almost single-handedly helped Ottumwa take the lead in the fifth when he singled, stole second and moved to third on a balk. He raced home when Justin Birch hit a shallow pop-up behind first base to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 advantage.

Ottumwa added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to break the game open. The big hit of the frame was Ryder’s double to right field to score Jake Steinbach. Ryder finished with two hits and two RBI in the game.

Pitching with the lead, Ryder dominated, finishing with six straight strikeouts to end the contest.

“When you throw as hard as Ben does, you have to realize you don’t have to paint the black,” Woods said. “If you cut the plate in half and hit your spot, that’s probably good enough. I think early on [in the season] he was trying to be perfect. Now, he’s letting loose and throwing strikes.”