Scheffert guides Southeast to state

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BY KEN HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

Josh Scheffert’s slider slid and Lincoln Southeast sailed to the District A-4 baseball title Monday.

Scheffert struck out 10 and allowed just two hits to lead the Knights to a 3-0 victory against  Lincoln North Star before some 800 fans at Sherman Field.

Scheffert said support, advice and supervision helped his cause.

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Lincoln Southeast's Joshua Scheffert (right) is congratulated by teammates after recording the final out Monday. (Gwyneth Roberts)

Lincoln Southeast's Joshua Scheffert (right) is congratulated by teammates after recording the final out Monday. (Gwyneth Roberts)

Lincoln North Star coach Lanny Bolles said Scheffert seemed pretty self-sufficient.

The Southeast junior doubled in a run in the first inning and  tripled in a run and scored in the third to back up his impressive effort on the mound.

“That’s a gutty performance,” said Southeast coach Dave Brolhorst, whose 18-7 team heads to the state tournament that starts this weekend in Lincoln. “Josh has done that for us all year. He’s hitting close to .480. He’s 5-1 with an earned-run average under 1.0 and he gives all of us a reason to feel pretty confident when he’s pitching.”

Scheffert’s pitching took some work before he found his rhythm and struck out six of the last seven batters he faced.

“Scheffert is a top-quality player, but he was a little wild and getting his pitches up early in the game and we thought we had a chance to get something going,” Bolles said. “But once he got going, there was nothing to hit. He’d throw the fastball for strikes and then come with that slider that was too wide for us. He hit his spots and we couldn’t hit the ball.

“At the plate, after he hit that double in the first inning, we talked about not giving him anything to hit and we threw a pitch low and away on him in the third and he hit it for a triple,” Bolles said. “That was a good hit and that was my fault.”

Scheffert agreed with Bolles that his first few innings were less than dominant.

“My mechanics were all messed up and the guys on the bench, some of our pitchers, my coaches, too, told me I had to slow down and get control of what I was doing,” he said. “I was in front of myself and once I slowed down, then slowed down some more, I was able to throw the pitches that were called and the pitches my catcher (Taylor Darlington) was signaling. Then, I just pitched and our defense was great.”

North Star (18-8) still has a solid chance of qualifying for the state tournament as a wild card. The Gators need the top-seeded teams to win the districts in order to keep their season alive.

Scheffert walked two batters in the first inning, but Darlington threw out one base runner trying to steal second. Scheffert struck out the side in the second and didn’t give up a hit until Jon Branum singled with two outs in the fourth.

By then, Scheffert was in control. He allowed a two-out double to Joe Hartley in the fifth, but retired the next six batters.

Southeast was happy it got the runs it did early in the game because North Star pitcher Jacob Hiatt also hit his stride after the third inning. He fanned five Knights in the final four innings and after Griffin DePriest singled in Scheffert in the third, he took control. Only a double by Southeast’s Jaydee Jurgensen, who doubled and scored in the second, and an intentional walk to Scheffert in the fifth cracked Hiatt’s finish.

Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.