Northfield edges Manchester 1-0 in sectional
Northfield earned the right to play Wabash for the Lewis Cass baseball sectional title, by defeating Manchester 1-0 Monday. As everyone thought it would be, it was a classic pitchers dual. Freshman Ryan Keaffaber was on the mound for the Norse, while junior Scott Baker threw for the Squires.
Northfield’s potent offense would threaten many times, only to have Baker shut them down. In the bottom of the 1st, Northfield had runners on 1st and 3rd and 2 outs, Andy Roser grounded out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 2nd the Norse had the bases loaded after a Levi Allen walk, only to have Baker strike out the next two batters to get out of the inning. In the 3rd the Norse got a runner to 3rd with two outs and popped out to end the inning. Again in the 4th the Norse moved a runner to 3rd and Baker struck out the batter to end the inning. Starting the 5th, Keaffaber struck out the first batter and then lightning struck. The game was suspended for 40 minutes until the weather cleared. After the suspended play, Keaffaber struck out the next two. Manchester changed pitchers after the delay, going to Connor McLaughlin. After a Peyton Ross single and an error the Norse had runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. Andy Roser singled to right and Ross was rounding 3rd to score when he tripped and had to go back. With bases loaded, McLaughlin struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning. In the 6th with one out, Manchester’s Devan Knecht singled up the middle, but Keaffaber shut the door, popping up a bunt and striking out a batter to retire the side. Again in the bottom of the inning the Norse applied pressure, loading the bases with two outs. McLaughlin threw a wild pitch and Levi Allen scored what would be the winning run. In the 7th, Keaffaber forced a major league pop up, struck out a batter and then gave up a double to Joe Spann. A groung ball to 2nd and the Norse escaped with the narrow victory.
For Northfield, Keaffaber pitched a complete game, striking out 11 and allowing 2 hits. For Manchester, Baker pitched 4 innings, striking out 5 and allowing no runs. McLaughlin pitched 2 inniings, striking out 3 and allowing 1 run.
Wabash defeats North Miami in sectional semi-final
Wabash moved to 10-19 on the season and into the championship game of the Lewis Cass Sectional with a 3-2 win over North Miami.
North Miami scored first in the top of the 2nd but Wabash quickly answered in the bottom if the inning when Jack Holley and Shea Beauchamp led of the inning with singles and an Alex Hentgen sac fly tied the game at 1-1. The Apaches scored two runs in the bottom of the 5th when Thomas McHaney’s sac bunt turned into a three base error and was followed by a Nate Price double. North Miami cut the deficit to 1 in the 7 th but that was as close as they would get.
Wabash senior Zach Sailors went the distance for his second win in the Sectional. Sailors gave up 5 hits and walked 2 while striking out 6.
The Apache offense was led by Joey Burns who was 2-2 with a walk.
Wabash beats Southwood in sectional
The Wabash Apaches defeated Southwood in first round action of the boys baseball sectional Thursday 16-5. The Apaches offense was potent, scoring 4 runs in the 1st and 5 in the 2nd to lead 9-1 after 2 innings. Southwood closed the lead to 9-4 in the 4th before the Wabash offense took off again, scoring 2 more in the 5th to lead 11-4. Southwood scored 1 run in the 6th to make it 11-5 going in to the bottom of the inning. Up 14-5, Zach Sailors crushed a 2 run home run to end the game.
Wabash scored 16 runs on 15 hits. Southwood scored 5 runs on 8 hits.
Back up and running
wabashcountysports.com is back up and running again. We are sorry for any inconveinence the down time may have caused, but it was a step we needed to make. We had out grown our web host and needed to make a change in order to keep growing. The switch in host was suppose to take one to seven days and of course with my luck the latter number was how long it took.
What the change is allowing us to do is add an archive section so you can always look up older articles, a search bar if your looking for that one special person, plus in the real near future we will be selling our photographs. It also gives a cleaner look and the pictures are better quality.
Thank you for your patience. It will take us a few days to tweek the site exactly how we want it. As always you can send your questions or comments to gary@wabashcountysports.com
Little League Action!
There were 4 games in the national league this past sunday. In the first double header the A’s swept the pirates. Matt Cox continued to pitch well for the A’s as he quieted the bats of the pirates. Adam Driscoll led the A’s with a huge blast to put the first game out of reach. The A’s stayed hot in the second game as runs for the A’s seemed to be no problem on the night.
The second set featured the Redsox and Giants. The Red Sox and Giants split the double header. The first game was a great pitching affair between Zach Ball and Blake Vanhoose. The Red Sox just had not answer for Zach as he silenced a very good hitting Red Sox team. The second game was a sluggers fest with Kaleb Kelshimer pitching for the Giants and Brennan Kelley for the Red Sox. Both teams had no problems scoring, but the Red Sox ended out winning the game 13 to 12.
Monday there was one game between the Blackhawks and Giants. The pitchers for the night were Treavor Floor and Carson Blair. Both pitchers pitched well, but the bats of the Blackhawks showed early. Austin Hostetler hit a solo shot in the first inning putting the Black Hawks up 1 to 0. The Giants then came back in the bottom of the first on a hustle play by Kaleb Kelsheimer when he popped up to the catcher. Reaching on an error Kaleb later scored on another Blackhawk error. Brent White then started the second off with a triple to left. Cole Fluke then reached on a free pass. Brent White scored when the Giants tried to throw Cole out at second stealing. The throw went into center and Cole advanced to third. Austin Haynes then walked after battling Carson. Taylor Vigar then singled driving in Cole Fluke. Austin then reached on a fielders choice putting runners on the corners. Treavor Floor then singled driving in Vigar and Hostetler. This put the score up to 5 to 1. Treavor Floor then settled down putting the Giants down 3 up 3 down the next two innings Carson Blair matched Floor not allowing another run until the sixth, when Austin Hostetler blasted another homerun this time off of Giants reliever Bobby Mettler. The second homerun on the night put the game out of reach. Treavor allowed only one more run, making the final score 7 to 2. Treavor Floor pitched a complete game 2 hitter with 9 strikeouts. Carson Blair ended the night with 5 strikeouts.
