Baseball: Fast start against Mishawaka sends Royals to state for the first time

By RICH TORRES
PLYMOUTH – It wasn’t a huge move, just a minor shift in the batting order made on Memorial Day, but one that continues to pay dividends for the Hamilton Southeastern Royals, especially on Saturday during the Plymouth Semi-state.
With Cole DeWael setting the table and Anthony Eggers supplying the power, the HSE Royals got off to a fast start during the Class 4A semi-state championship at Bill Nixon Field and fended off Mishawaka 4-2 to earn the program’s first trip to the state finals at Victory Field.
The key during the Royals’ 10th straight victory started at the top where Eggers and DeWael formerly held opposite roles.
“Generally, in my coaching past, I’ve made more changes than I have in the backend of this year, but this was one that was kind of a hunch,” HSE coach Jeremy Sassanella remarked on flipping Eggers and DeWael in the lineup. “I thought Anthony isn’t missing by much, but I think we try Cole in the leadoff hole, and that’s work pretty well. The kids have battled.”
The duo used six pitches in the top of the first to give HSE a 2-0 lead, and Xavier commit Michael Dillon had plenty to work with through 6 innings of three-hit, scoreless baseball. Dillon (9-1) struck out 11 batters, walked two and retired the first eight batters he faced.
“I’ve been waiting for this all year. This whole week I knew I was going to start, and it was hard to sleep at night. I was just ready for this game,” Dillon remarked on this shutout through six frames. “I knew I was going to go out there and give everything I had even more. I knew I wanted to go as long as I could, and I felt with as much adrenaline and everything I had, my brothers picking me up, even in the sixth inning I felt as sharp as the first.”
DeWael was locked in from the start. Taking four straight pitches to lead off the top of the first, DeWael walked to first before Eggers launched an 1-0 offering over the opposite field wall for his first home run in his prep career.
“It felt great off the bat. I was ready to go,” Eggers said. “That was my first one ever. I hit some back in seventh, eighth grade, but it was the perfect time.”
The Royals’ insurance runs proved crucially timed late as Greyson Droste drew a hit by pitch to give HSE a base runner in the top of the sixth. Jordan Millikan entered as a courtesy runner for Droste and later scored on a throwing error to put the Royals up 3-0.
An RBI double by DeWael in the top of the seventh made it 4-0, as the junior center fielder finished the game 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk.
“The first inning is crucial to score runs, and Eggers doesn’t hit to many home runs like that. It was just really cool to see,” DeWael said. “We’re both just looking to get base hits and score runners. We just want to keep it going.”
Dillon rolled with 95 pitches thrown, but he was relieved by fellow ace Tyler Schweitzer in the bottom of the seventh. The Ball State recruit put the Cavemen on their heels with two quick outs, but a fielder’s choice bunt and a hit batter gave Mishawaka an opening.
The Cavemen (25-7) rallied with a pair of RBI singles by AJ Rosebush and Nicholas Bodle, but Schweitzer regrouped to strikeout Derrick Dawson swinging for the game’s final out.
“I told the kids early on and it was hard to understand. Of course, we didn’t know we would be standing here, but I told them, we have some tough grind out wins and losses early. I tried to explain over the course of a season and to win championships, we have to learn about ourselves through that,” Sassanella said. “Not only in the X and Os, but just about each other.”
The Royals will have a chance to show who they are in Indianapolis during the 4A title game against No. 3 Columbus East (25-4).
“It’s the first time in HSE history that we’re going to Victory Field, so my heart is pumping right now on pure adrenaline,” Schweitzer said. “We get to go on the biggest stages in Indiana next Monday. I can’t wait.”

Hamilton Southeastern 4, Mishawaka 2
Southeastern AB R H RBI
Cole DeWael 3 1 2 1
Anthony Eggers 4 1 1 2
Brayton Harrison 4 0 0 0
Greyson Droste 2 0 1 0
Jordan Millikan 0 1 0 0
Jack DeWolf 3 0 0 0
Jake Huston 3 0 0 0
Matthew Buckingham 3 0 1 0
Jake Stout 3 1 1 0
Cam Bolling 2 0 0 0
Totals 27 4 6 3
Score by innings
Southeastern 200 001 1 – 4 6 0
Mishawaka 000 000 2 – 2 6 2
HR: Eggers. 2B: DeWael 2. SB: Huston, Millikan. SAC: Bolling. HBP: Droste.
Southeastern pitching IP R ER H
Michael Dillon (W) 6 0 0 3
Tyler Schweitzer 1 2 2 3
Strikeouts: Dillon 11, Schweitzer 2. Walks: Dillon 2.

The Hamilton Southeastern baseball team is headed to the state finals for the first time in school history on Saturday. The Royals won the Class 4A Plymouth semi-state over Mishawaka 4-2. (Photo provided)