Lutheran vs Rising Sun
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!
The 2017 baseball season started out as what we thought would be somewhat of a rebuilding season. Our two primary pitchers from 2016, Spencer Owen and Jake Reid, had graduated and we were looking at a roster that was very young. Our roster ended up being 3 seniors, two of them had not started before, one junior, 5 sophomores and 3 freshmen.
We set a goal of trying to compete for a Sectional Championship and getting better throughout the season.
Here is the roster from the 2017 team:
SENIORS | JUNIORS |
Jacob Faubion CF | Carson Thomas 3B/P |
Patrick Kem SS | |
Zach Sanders LF/P |
SOPHOMORES | FRESHMEN |
Matthew Alter 1B/P | Aiden Bradbury 1B/P |
Matt Holm OF | Caleb Clark C |
Brett Reid DH/INF | Alex Kem 2B |
Jared Snead RF/C | |
Noah Wood C/CF/P |
While we were trying to put together a team, we had another issue to deal with. Noah Wood was going to be our starting catcher. Unfortunately Noah suffered a broken humerous in the Semi-State football game the previous November and had surgery with a rod placed inside his upper left arm. We were not sure he would be cleared to play. We got good news in that Noah could play but that he could not be the
catcher. As practice began, Noah worked at what he could do and gain confidence in being able to play. We got to the point where he could raise his left arm enough with strength to catch a ball. He was able to
throw and hit. So, Noah played centerfield, was a DH and pitched until mid-May. Noah made his first start as a catcher on May 13, our 16th game. At that time we were 10 and 6.
Up to this point in the season we were OK but our team defense was not as good as we wanted. Jacob Faubion returned to baseball for his senior year after not playing as a junior. Jacob started at second base but struggled some particularly in making accurate throws. He was doing great as a hitter and was working hard. In a move that changed our team, Jacob was agreeable to moving to centerfield. It changed our
defense from OK to very good. Jacob could use his excellent speed and quickness to track down balls we were not getting to previously. Our team went 6-1 after this move.
As Jacob moved to centerfield, we also brought freshman Alex Kem up from the JV team to play second base. Alex was very solid and did a very good job for us. Another key factor for the team success was how Alex played in those last 7 games of the season.
We also found out something about our team in the first game of the season. Of concern was how our pitching would hold up. We were counting on Matthew Alter (Sophomore), who had won two games as a
freshman and Aiden Bradbury, a freshman, to be our primary starters. To start the season, we played Perry Meridian in a doubleheader at Holder Field. I don’t think we had great expectations but we beat the Falcons in game 1 by a score of 2-1! Matthew started and pitched 4.1 innings. We had an error in the outfield that gave PM a base runner with one out in the fifth. The lead-off hitter got a hit followed by another
single to give PM their run. It appeared Matthew had tired so we brought in untested Aiden Bradbury to close the door. We were ahead 2-1 and Aiden came in and got a strikeout and popout to end the fifth and keep the lead. Aiden struck out the side in the 6th and then pitched out of a little jam in the bottom of the 7th after we had another error and walk. So, to win this game changed our dynamic about the season.
THE REGIONAL
We defeated Edinburgh in game one of the Regional, played at Morristown, by a score of 10 – 1 with Noah pitching. Our opponent, Rising Sun, had beaten us a few years earlier under some circumstances that still make me upset. I appreciated that they would be good and really wanted our team to play well and win. In my discussion with their coach before the game, he mentioned that his team had difficulty hitting again pitchers with higher velocity. That observation came true! The Matthew – Aiden combination had worked for us very well. Matthew was successful starting games. Aiden was more comfortable pitching in relief. That was our plan for the Championship game. We were the home team. Matthew was a little nervous and walked the first hitter. That player attempted to steal 2 nd but he was thrown out by Noah. The next hitter singled and stole 2B. Matthew settled in and struck out the #3 hitter and got the clean up guy to ground out to first base.
In the bottom half of the inning, Pat Kem led off with a single and then stole 2nd. Pat had been incredible in getting on base in the first inning of most of our games. Jacob Faubion then walked. Our third hitter was Carson Thomas. Carson was asked to bunt the runners over. He placed a great bunt past the pitcher toward the shortstop. The bases were now loaded with no outs. Noah then singled on an 0-2 pitch for one run. Aiden was hit by a pitch to drive in the second run. Matthew grounded out to second base and drove in the 3 rd run. Alex then singled to drive in a 4th run. Wow, ahead 4-0 after 1 inning. Matthew faced 7 batters in the next two innings and gave up no runs but we did not do any further damage either.
In the 4th inning, their #3 hitter singled and then scored on a double by their clean up hitter. We got that hitter out as he tried to go to 3rd base. Matthew was doing a good job, we had a 4-1 lead but I remembered what their coach had said about their hitters struggling with velocity. We brought in Aiden and he got out of the 4th with no damage. My memory is that we had Aiden just throw fastballs. Over the last 3 innings, Aiden gave up one hit, had 2 strikeouts and got 7 batters to pop or fly out.
In the bottom of the 5th , Pat led off with another single. Jacob bunted but their thirdbaseman made an error on the play. Carson bunted once again and we scored our 5 th run, another great bunt that went for a
single. Noah grounded out to shortstop to drive in the 6th run. After five innings, we led 6 to 1. As mentioned earlier, Aiden did well and retired the last 6 batters in order. Lutheran had won its first Regional Baseball Championship!
We played some small ball with Carson’s two bunts, got great pitching from Matthew and Aiden, had Pat lead the way again by getting on base to start innings, and played good defense with only one error. We won our 6th straight game with our revamped line-up and as always, pitching being the name of the game!
Our team lost in the Semi-State to eventual State Champion, Lanesville High School. This team had the best team spirit and synergy of my Lutheran teams, and there were some pretty great teams. This group of teammates played for each other and had a great season. We found the right recipe for success and the baseball gods looked down on us favorably! Certainly, the success of this team was unexpected, but
it was certainly earned.
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