LCI wins District title
corners with two out.
The call proved moot as LCI reliever Noah Wauters was able to ring up a strikeout to end the threat and clinch this year’s title.
Meanwhile, Rams starter Nolan Nishikawa got it done on the mound and at the dish, going six innings and mashing a two-out, bases-loaded double in the fourth inning that handed LCI a 7-2 lead and providing enough insurance to hang on when the Cougars pushed back late.
“They came out hard against us and when these guys come out like that it’s tough to come back,” said Rams head coach Lauren Bell. “Nishikawa pitched fantastic for us. He did everything we asked. We said ‘Pitch efficiently and let them hit the ball and let our defence work.’ I really think we have the best defence in the league. Our pitchers, if they threw strikes, I knew we would have a chance. The bats came alive in the second and we got three and the bats came alive again in the fourth and we got four and I guess, that’s all we needed to do. Wauters rounded it out shoved it to them at the end. He threw some gas and they couldn’t catch up.”
The Cougars opened up a 2-0 lead after the first when Lucas Puszkar scored on a fielder’s choice and Ty Hubka scored on a sacrifice fly.
LCI replied in the top of the second when Nishikawa singled to lead off and scored on a double from Xander Fox. Spencer Mehlen scored on a error to first and Fox made it 3-2 on a passed ball.
The Rams added to that lead in the fourth when Nishikawa laced a twoout bases-loaded double to centre field that brought in Skyler Braun, Spencer Aos and Scott Jensen. Earlier in the inning, Cole Haraga scored on a passed ball.
“I was just looking for a fastball, to be honest,” said Nishikawa. “I was hitting well all day and when you’re hitting well it’s easy to keep hitting.”
But the Cougars clawed back in the sixth.
Josh Kabayama scored on a comebacker off Nishikawa to cut LCI’s lead to 7-3 before CCH’s Sam Hilgersom scored on a single to shortstop to make it 7-4.
The Cougars scored on a bases loaded walk to pull within two.
“It just shows the resiliency of our guys, it was amazing,” said Cougars head coach Andrew Gilbert. “Sometimes you get to that spot and your guys kind of keep their heads down and that’s it. But they kept things going and if you can put pressure on a team like that, that’s what you want to do. They’re a veteran lineup and they’ve dealt with that before so we just tried to keep pushing on.”
Then came the seventhinning drama when the Rams thought they had thrown out Hilgersom at third before he was ruled safe on the obstruction call.
But after a few minutes of deliberation, Wauters was able to settle back in and close it out.
“It was an obstruction call and a good call. The ump made the right call,” said Bell. “I guess we got a little excited and thought we had won the game and had to bring it back in. Our pitcher came in and finished it off.”
The Cougars captured top spot in the regular season at 9-1, while the Rams were 7-3.
“Honestly, those are games that are a lot of fun to be a part of,” said Gilbert. “Us and LCI, we’ve been close all year. They’re a really strong team and it just didn’t go our way today. But kudos to them, they earned every inch of it. I thought our guys battled hard, but sometimes that’s just how it goes. But we are proud of our guys overall, we thought it was a heckuva year for us. So we’re happy with the result.”
Nishikawa earned the win for LCI and Kabayama was tagged for the loss for the Cougars. Despite taking the loss, the Cougars pitcher was named league MVP post game.
“Everyone respects everybody on this team,” said Nishikawa. “A lot of people on this team have played a high level ball and that definitely gives you an advantage.”
“Catholic Central is a good Club,” added Bell. “It was a fantastic game and we’ve always had good games against them. They run a great program over there.”
And they’ll bring back the majority of their lineup next year as well.
“We only had one Grade 12 this year,” said Gilbert. “So we had a lot of Grade 10s and a lot of Grade 11s. We hope to return a good, solid core for next year and hopefully the building blocks are set for going on in the future with this program.”
For Bell, Thursday’s title was a trip down memory lane.
The Rams head coach and his fellow coaches, Don Groves and Don Aos, were a part of the Rams team that won the city title 33 years ago.
Coincidentally, Aos’ son, Spencer, donned number 33 this year, albeit unintentionally.
“We’ve been together since we all played high school,” said Bell. “We played high school together, we played Legion together. Don (Aos) and I started playing when we were six years old. We played Little League together, pretty much on the same team all the way through. Don Groves, we met up with him when we were about 13 or 14. We did that in high school and then ran into Legion and won a couple of State championships. Don and I went to college together down in Illinois and Don Groves went to Arizona. We all did a few things and then we came back together.”
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