By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
After getting hit in the first inning of the Hoosier Conference baseball championship game, the Huskies hit back.
Hamilton Heights recovered from a 2-0 first-inning deficit to stun Lafayette Central Catholic 4-2 to win the conference title. The Huskies took the lead with three runs in the third inning, and used stellar pitching and defense to stop any comeback attempts by the Class 2A No. 1 Knights, who were hosting the game.
“Our kids are extremely confident,” said Heights coach Matt Wallace. “We’re not superstars at anything, but we have a lot of grit. We have a lot of selflessness and our kids just come to compete each inning, every game.”
The Huskies got on the board after loading the bases with one out in the top of the third. Reese Wills came up to bat and put the ball in play, and LCC tried to get the out at home. But the ball was overthrown, which resulted in Noah Wallace and Austin Sauerteig scoring.
With that, the game was tied. Minutes later, Cole Meyer batted in Luke Thesier with a fielder’s choice RBI. Thesier was pinch-running for Max Wahl; he loaded the bases with a perfect bunt down the left foul line.
Heights got a big defensive play in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Michael Cross threw the ball in from right field to catcher Gabe Reel, who tagged an LCC runner who was trying to score.
“One thing we’ve worked hard on is being aggressive and come and getting it, and he really charged that ball and made just a bullet throw,” said Matt Wallace. “It was perfect.”
The very next inning, Reel made a big offensive play. He blasted a two-out double into center field to score Sauerteig. What could’ve been a 3-3 game had suddenly turned into a 4-2 lead for the Huskies.
“Gabe has been probably our most clutch RBI guy all year in that five-hole,” said Wallace. “We’ve got a lot of guys ahead of him that get on base, and we’ve kind of kept him there all year as a guy to really knock in runs, and he came through again tonight.”
Wills pitched a complete game for Heights, and pitched outstanding. While he only had one strikeout, he was a master of efficiency, inducing easy groundouts for the infield and pop-ups that the Huskies’ outfield disposed of with no trouble.
“He was on,” said Wallace. “Reese is a competitor. He wanted the ball from the get-go. He’s done that his whole career here at Heights. I was not surprised. He was just efficient. He put the ball where he wanted it all night.”
Wills got out of the fifth inning in only five pitches, and only needed eight pitches to take care of the sixth.
“That was a key for us, because that was also the heart of their order,” said Wallace.
Sauerteig finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Wills totaled two RBIs for the night.
The Hamilton Heights baseball team won the Hoosier Conference championship game Friday, stunning Class 2A No. 1 Lafayette Central Catholic 4-2.
(Richie Hall)
Heights 4, Central Catholic 2
Heights AB R H RBI
Noah Wallace 4 1 0 0
Austin Sauerteig 4 2 3 0
Max Wahl 4 1 1 0
Reese Wills 3 0 0 2
Gabe Reel 3 0 1 1
Sam Wahl 0 0 0 0
Cole Meyer 1 0 0 1
Riley White 4 0 0 0
Michael Cross 4 0 1 0
Sam Fulton 1 0 0 0
Totals 28 4 6 3
Score by innings
Heights 003 010 0 – 4 6 0
LCC 200 000 0 – 2 3 1
2B: Reel.
HH pitching IP R ER H
Wills 7 2 2 3
Strikeouts: Wills 1. Walks: Wills 3.