Lions slide past Vikings, 5-3

By Mike Myers, Sports Writer

April 25, 2007 11:20 am

— LOOGOOTEE — Everything was in place for a great high school baseball game Tuesday at Les Page Field. A beautiful spring afternoon, two pitchers throwing well, and two competitive teams playing fundamentally sound baseball. And a good crowd in the stands, many of whom were munching on hot dogs from the concession stand.
In fact, the only things missing were apple pie and a Chevrolet.
Commercial references aside, both coaches had plenty to be happy about in Loogootee’s 5-3 win over Barr-Reeve. And that happiness begins with pitching.
Each hurler, Loogootee’s Eamon Osborne and Barr-Reeve’s Kevin Knepp, went the distance and both threw well. Osborne allowed seven hits while fanning five, including a strikeout of the Vikings’ Josh Miller with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh. Knepp kept Loogootee (6-3) off balance with his breaking ball while surrendering six hits and allowing just two runs through five innings. Both pitchers drew praise from both sides of the diamond.
“It was a good pitching game today. Eamon threw well, Kevin Knepp threw well. He just kept us guessing all game long,” said Loogootee coach Mike Wagoner. “Finally, we put a couple of hits together. Derek Parsons got a big two-out hit there in the sixth. It was a good ballgame all around.”
“Both pitchers threw the ball well. It’s watching people who know how to pitch because neither one of the pitchers tonight were overpowering, but both of them mixed their pitches well. They threw their breaking balls for strikes, they located their fastballs well, they kept the hitters off stride,” said Barr-Reeve coach Joe Rademacher. “It’s pitching and not throwing, and for people who like baseball, they like seeing that.”
Both teams played well defensively as the Lions killed three Barr-Reeve (4-7) rallies with double plays, and the Vikings turned a slick twin killing in the fifth inning to shut down a potential Lion outburst.
Barr-Reeve scored single runs in the first and fourth against Osborne, while the Lions reached Knepp for a pair of runs in the third. The game was knotted at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth and appeared headed to the seventh still tied when with two out and Loogootee’s Josh Divine on third, Knepp got Loogootee’s Mitch Harder to hit a soft line drive toward Ashton Stutzman at second base. Stutzman tried to catch the sinking liner on the fly but it glanced off his glove and into right field, allowing Divine to score.
Loogootee’s Pat Bowling reached following Harder, and Knepp hit Wyllie Wagoner with a pitch to load the bases. Parsons followed with a shot to right to score two runs before Knepp fanned Noah Callahan to end the inning.
Barr-Reeve wouldn’t go quietly in the seventh. Mark Rohrer reached on a fielder’s choice with two out and advanced to second on a throwing error on the same play. Kendall Murphy followed with a base hit down the third base line to score Rohrer.
Murphy moved to third when Ethan Knepp drove on Osborne offering up the power alley in left center for a double. With the tying run at second and Barr-Reeve’s cleanup hitter, senior Josh Pielemeier, striding to the plate, Wagoner went against the book and intentionally walked Pielemeier, putting the go ahead run on base.
Wagoner didn’t hesitate in walking Pielemeier, who had driven in a run with a double in the first.
“I told Eamon ‘Let’s don’t let him (Pielemeier) beat us, let’s put him on base. I know he’s the go ahead run, but it’s going to take more than a double to get him in,” said Wagoner.
“We had to go with the percentages, and it worked out.”
Miller worked the count to 2-2 before swinging and missing at an Osborne curveball to end the game.
Loogootee travels to Washington Catholic today, while Barr-Reeve hosts Washington in a rescheduled game.

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