Monday, May 28, 2007 11:58 PM CDT
Olney's eighth-inning break equals state berth
CLASS A CHARLESTON SUPER-SECTIONAL
BY BRIAN NIELSEN Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON - Like nearly everyone else in Coaches Stadium as the throw went to home plate, Taylor Pickens saw little hope as he stood in no-man’s land in the base path.
Maybe not at that instant, but Pickens’ Olney baseball coach Andy Julian knew there was a chance.
“They made some big defensive plays and so did we,” Julian said. “At some point there is going to be some break.”
Pickens said: “I thought I was going to be out but then I saw their infielders kind of get jumbled up there so maybe I had a chance.”
Sure enough, as the Olney sophomore was scampering back to third base on the rundown, the ball bounced out of Trenton Wesclin catcher Justin Dunning’s mitt as he tried to make the tag.
Two batters later, an error on Blake Schmucker’s ground ball to the second baseman provided the game’s first two runs in the top of the eighth inning.
After Olney pitcher Kurtis Mehl got out of a jam in the bottom of the eighth inning, he and the Tigers had a 2-0 win Monday in the IHSA Class A Charleston Baseball Super-Sectional at Eastern Illinois’ Coaches Stadium.
The side-arming Mehl went all eight innings on this hot Memorial Day afternoon as his four-hit shutout sends the Tigers into Friday’s 7 p.m. state quarterfinal game at Joliet’s Cross Field against Walther Lutheran.
But the venture included much more.
“At the very beginning of the year we got the seniors together and set the goal to win a state championship,” Mehl said. “We worked all through the winter.”
Wesclin finished 25-9, a year after it won the Charleston Super-Sectional on the way to a state runner-up season.
“We lost seven key players from last year,” Wesclin coach John Groennert said. “If you would have told me we’d be back here I wouldn’t have believed you.
“It was a well played game until the end. That’s part of high school baseball. Usually the team with the least mistakes wins.”
Through seven innings, this game had few flaws.
Olney’s only error of the day was wiped out when second baseman Cody Smith and shortstop Schmucker turned a 4-6-3 double play to end the sixth inning.
Wesclin pitcher Jameson Ruckers, striking out seven batters while allowing five hits, survived Jonathan Kuenstler’s leadoff double in the fourth inning and Mehl’s leadoff single in the sixth.
Pickens, who had singled in the third inning, started Olney’s eighth-inning rally with a one out double down the left field line and moved to third on a throwing error into the infield.
That all seemed wasted when Wesclin shortstop Paul Ritzeheimer fielded Mehl’s ground ball and threw home with Pickens just about halfway down the base line.
“I knew I’d be toast so I turned around and tried to go back the best I could,” Pickens said.
When after a couple of throws the ball bounced out of the catcher’s mitt on the tag attempt, Olney had a reprieve.
“That was all him,” Julian said of Pickens’ escape. “That wasn’t coaching.”
Still, Olney’s chance seemed gone again when Kuenstler, who earlier had doubled over the left fielder’s head and put down a sacrifice bunt, this time became Rakers’ seventh strikeout victim for the second out.
Schmucker’s ground ball seemed to have ended another scoreless Olney inning but the ball was bobbled and then thrown wildly past first base allowing two runs to score.
“When Blake Scmucker hit the ball to second base, he didn’t jog down the line, he ran and made them make a play,” Julian said.
This time, Wesclin didn’t.
“We didn’t make the routine play,” Groennert said. “It boils down to making plays.”
Olney still had to get through the bottom of the eighth inning that started with Rakers being hit by a pitch.
Luke Pakosta hit into a fielder’s choice and then Ritzeheimer’s line drive was caught by Cody Burnett at third base for the second out.
But Jason Heinzmann beat out a slow roller for an infield hit, keeping things alive with Dunning coming to bat representing the potential winning run.
“When I went out there I was pretty confident with two runs,” Mehl said. “Even if they scored one run, we were going to win. When the second guy got on, I was a little nervous.
“The catcher, I’d heard was a really good hitter. I was just keeping it low.”
That worked this time for Mehl’s third strikeout ending his extra-inning complete game performance four days after a 3 2/3-inning relief stint when Olney beat Effingham St. Anthony 21-9 in Thursday’s Lake Land Sectional semifinal.
“We were in a situation where we had to bring him in relief against St. Anthony and he couldn’t pitch Saturday,” Julian said. “Now I’m glad we did it or he couldn’t have pitched today.”
Olney AB R H BI
Pickens, lf 4 1 2 0
Mehl, p 4 1 1 0
Kuenstler, cf 3 0 1 0
Schmucker, ss 4 0 0 0
Houchin, c 3 0 0 0
Burnett, 3b 2 0 0 0
Smith, 2b 3 0 0 0
Baker, 1b 3 0 0 0
Wilson, dh 3 0 1 0
Totals 29 2 5 0
2B-Pickens, Kuenstler. S-Kuenstler.
Trenton Wesclin AB R H BI
Ritzheimer, ss 4 0 0 0
Heinzmann, lf 4 0 1 0
Dunning, c 3 0 0 0
Spicer, 3b 3 0 1 0
Covert, dh 3 0 0 0
Shaw, cf 3 0 0 0
Fuhler, 1b 3 0 1 0
Bechtoldt, pr 0 0 0 0
Rakers, p 1 0 0 0
Pakosta, 2b 3 0 1 0
Totals 27 0 4 0
Olney 000 000 02 - 2-5-1
Wesclin 000 000 00 - 0-4-2
Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO
Olney
Mehl 8 4 0 0 1 3
Wesclin
Rakers 8 5 2 0 0 7
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
CLICK TO ENLARGE
|
