RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Saturday, May 3, 2008 7:00 pm
Eric Schleppenbach figured a fastball was coming.
“He got down 1-0 on me, and since he’d thrown a fastball to me before, he’d do it again,” said the Lincoln Pius X senior. “I just put a swing on it and got under it a bit.”
The wind helped blow the ball back into fair territory and it dropped for a three-run triple to give Pius X a 6-0, fifth-inning lead in over Nebraska City in the Class B-4 District baseball tournament. The Thunderbolts held on to earn a 6-5 victory and advance to the final at 5 p.m. Monday against Omaha Gross, which defeated Douglas County West 7-3.
Lincoln East had to withstand a rally by Omaha Bryan to advance to the Class A-2 District final at 5 p.m. Monday against the Millard West, which beat Lincoln High 10-0 in a five-inning game played late Saturday.
The Spartans counted on a three-run third inning, and then added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings for the win. Tyson Clark tripled in Matt Makovicka with what proved to be the winning run in the seventh.
In the Class B tournament, Alex Jones gave Pius X a 1-0 lead with a solo home run to left in the first inning, but the Bolts couldn’t get much going against Nebraska City sophomore Logan Ehlers until the fifth inning.
Ehlers, who was averaging nearly 17 strikeouts per game this spring, fanned 11. Aaron Molinaro started the game strong on the mound for Pius X, striking out 10 before giving way to Ethan McWilliams in the sixth inning.
“Early on, it was a pretty classic pitching duel,” said Pius X coach Troy Charf. “But Aaron got to the red line on pitch count. We tried to get him through the inning, but then we thought it best to get him out. And Ethan has been a very consistent strike thrower for us.“
McWilliams came on with two outs after Nebraska City scored three runs, the last two on a double by Kevin Rademacher. McWilliams got a fly ball to end that threat, but he got into trouble in the seventh.
Travis Peterson and Shawn Hermann singled and Matt Russell drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Greg Denniston walked to plate a run, and then Garrett Anthens singled in Hermann. Russell was forced back to third by the throw from the outfield and then Denniston was caught in a rundown going back to second to end the game.
“To their credit, they did not give up when they were down six runs,” said Charf. “I really felt we were playing not to lose there at the end instead of being aggressive, but I’ll take a win.“
The Spartans got a gutsy performance on the mound from Zach Smith. He allowed just two runs, one of them earned, through the first five innings before Omaha Bryan made its comeback.
Marcus Madej doubled in a run and then scored on a single by Lars Trizila in the bottom of the seventh. With two runners on, Smith got a strikeout, his 10th, to end the game.
“I knew I had to get it over the plate. I was about 130 pitches and my arm was getting a little sore,” said Smith. “With this team, I’m confident because I know they will make plays and we scored some runs.“
East coach Mike Sterns said Smith’s multisport background helped him down the stretch. Smith played football and basketball for the Spartans.
“He had five good strong innings and after that, it was all guts,” said Sterns. “He’s a competitor and he been in competitive situations in football and basketball. I’m certain that got him through those last two innings.“
Graham Thurber doubled in a run in the third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Clark.
Lincoln High advanced to the semifinal against Millard West with a 6-1 win over Omaha South. The Links’ Mike Matzen doubled and scored on a single by Jared Shook in the second inning.
A triple by Jeremy Philipi sparked a three-run third inning. He scored on a groundout by Eric McVicker. Two walks and an error led to the other runs.
Pitcher Darin Effle scattered four hits and the only run was unearned. Effle struck out seven.
“Darin did an outstanding job and was in the zone all day,” said Lincoln High coach Todd Sandberg. “In the second half of the season, this team got some quality wins and competed well against rated teams or contenders. They just played with more confidence.”
A-6 postponed: The A-6 district scheduled to begin Saturday at Omaha Burke was postponed and will be played there starting Monday.
Lincoln Southwest will face Omaha Burke in the second game with the winner advancing to Tuesday night’s championship game.
Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.