TERRE HAUTE —
Three first-year varsity pitchers combined for only a half dozen bad pitches — if that — Thursday evening in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball at Terre Haute South.
But on a night with a stiff wind whistling toward the 300-foot left-field fence, there was no room for error as far as earned run averages were concerned, and the host Braves got a pair of homers and two unexpected doubles in taking the opener of their two-game series with Terre Haute North by a 5-4 score.
The visiting Patriots had tied the score in the top of the sixth on Cody Gardner’s second homer of the day, a towering blast that needed no help from the elements — but got plenty of extra distance anyway — before South got a runner to third with two out in the bottom of the inning.
Then sophomore Austin Slover, in a pinch-hit role, picked the perfect time for his first varsity RBI, driving a two-base hit to deep center field.
“I’ve gotten in to pinch hit quite a lot,” the hero said of his previous varsity experience. “Nothing as big as this, of course … [the Patriots] got down in the court and I was looking for a fastball down the middle. At 3-and-1, I got that. I think I’d gotten one varsity hit [prior to Thursday].”
“I liked the lefty-righty matchup,” coach Kyle Kraemer said, “and it was 3-and-1. He got a fastball and he did what he was supposed to.”
“That’s a tribute to him,” North coach Shawn Turner said of Slover. “He was taking responsibility for his role on the team … and I’m not sure there were 18 starters out there today that did that.”
Slover’s game-winning hit made a winning pitcher of Pete Lannoo, who would rather have gotten a save. Lannoo took the mound in the top of the sixth with his team leading 4-3 and gave up the second Gardner homer before retiring the last six batters, four on strikes.
“[South starter] Damon [Olds] should’ve gotten the win. He pitched really well for us,” Lannoo said afterward. “I made a mistake to a really good hitter and paid for it. But we got the run back because we were able to execute.”
Olds and North’s Austin Hicks both were sharp early and — despite the weather conditions — were challenging the hitters. There wasn’t a walk in the 89-minute game.
But with two out in the bottom of the third and Jacob Johnson on base after a bunt single, the Braves struck quickly: a line drive two-run homer by Lannoo, a wicked one-hop single by Preston Tofaute that threatened to decapitate North first baseman Sam Wolf, and a two-run homer by Colton Rupska.
North answered immediately. Gardner led off with his first homer of the year. “Much needed,” the Patriot shortstop said afterward. “I finally got the right pitches and the right swings.” Then Tony Rosselli doubled, an error and a wild pitch made it 4-2, and Scottie Finzel singled for another run; a double play turned by Johnson and Brandon Joyner stopped the rally.
Rupska, a left-handed hitter whose homer got no help from wind blowing the other way — “[The wind] made it weird to read [fly balls],” said the South right fielder after the game — led off the bottom of the sixth inning and used the elements, slapping an opposite-field fly that went for a double.
“It was an outside pitch and I tried to take it that way,” he said later. “I thought it was a lot shorter than it was.” And two outs later, Slover came through.
“They’re the best team we’ll face all year,” Turner said of the Braves — although that wasn’t exactly the same message he’d given his team. “We’re not a good enough hitting team to compete with a team like that. We’ve got Cody Gardner right now, but nothing to go with him.”
Suspicion exists that Turner might be hoping his players read that previous paragraph, but there was no mistaking his displeasure with his team’s 11 strikeouts. “If you don’t put the ball in play,” he said, “it’s tough for [the Braves] to make mistakes.”
“Typical North-South game,” said Kraemer. “It never seems easy for one side or the other.”
“It’s a whole team effort,” noted Lannoo. “We’ve been preaching execution, and we were able to execute. A great win for the team.”
“I’m real happy,” added Rupska. “We feel a lot more confident about our games this weekend now.”
The next of those games, of course, is at North tonight — the game that will count in the Big 4 standings as well as the MIC.
“We’ll be throwing our ace, and I’m sure [the Braves] will be throwing their ace,” Gardner predicted. “I expect a pretty good pitchers’ duel.”
And if the rain holds off, it won’t be as windy.
High School
Related Photos
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Double drives it in: Terre Haute South's Austin Slover, top, celebrates with his teammates after he drove in the winning run with a double during the Braves' 5-4 win over North Thursday at South.
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Driving in the winner: Terre Haute South's Austin Slover hits a double to drive in teammate Colton Rupska which gave the Braves' the winning run in the sixth inning of the team's win over North Thursday at South.
Discussion
Slover's pinch-hit double lifts Terre Haute South over North
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