The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lutheran West’s bats go quiet in loss
Longhorns’ great season ends in regional semifinal
MASSILLON >> In its first regional appearance since 1996, Lutheran West came up short against Warren Champion, losing, 9-3, in the Division III Massillon regional semifinal May 26 at Washington High School to finish the season 20-4.
After scoring 22 runs
against Kirtland in the district final, the Longhorns struggled against Champion starter Drake Batcho, putting up five hits — four in the final two innings when the game was just about out of reach — and stranding seven runners on the day.
“When you face a pitcher
like (Batcho), he’s a shutdown pitcher and you have to give all the credit to him, and on top of that (Champion) hit the ball, too,” Lutheran West coach Trey Lamb said. “They got the clutch hits. Their hits fell and that pitcher was lights out. Very, very impressive. For being
a tall lefty like that, he can throw.”
>> Photos: View Jon Behm’s gallery of the D-III Massillon Region semifinal
Lutheran West had plenty of chances to get on the board before finally breaking through in the sixth inning. The Longhorns got their first two hitters on base in four of seven innings but couldn’t take advantage of seven walks and left the bases loaded in two innings before Batcho pitched his way out of it.
It was a tough test for the Longhorns who upset Elyria Catholic and Kirtland in the district tournament but haven’t gotten as far as a regional semifinal in 21 years, and Lamb attributed a few base-running and defensive miscues to some nerves his young team couldn’t overcome.
“There was nerves,” Lamb said. “There were just a couple little mishaps. We carry a small roster so players get bumped around to different positions, but I think nerves was a lot of it. We’re usually very, very fundamentally sound and I didn’t see too many mistakes, just a couple little tiny ones.”
>>High school baseball: Team-first attitude carries Lutheran West far
Senior Alex Robinson went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run triple, while Josh Cales, Owen Albers and Rory Zakareckis each had hits for Lutheran West.
Despite a tough loss after an exciting season that featured a back-to-back PAC Stripes championship and a district title, Lamb is encouraged by what he saw in Massillon and hopes getting a taste of the sweet 16 will keep his underclassmen hungry heading into the offseason.
“I’m very proud of them,” Lamb said of his team. “They’ve always been here to just to play the game. It doesn’t matter (if we’re) up 20, down 20, we’re going to come out and play our game and that’s what we did. It’s a testament to our kids.
“(I hope that) seeing the fans, coming back, getting a taste of it and doing it again (is what they take away).
“We’ve got a lot of young kids, we brought a lot of freshmen with us just to see it, so hopefully the freshmen see how these guys work — the seniors — and that’s what they get from it.”
Warren Champion will face Chippewa in the D-III Massillon Region championship May 27 at Washington High School.