2A Sectional 43: Park Tudor Pummels Shortridge; Ritter Cruises Past Covenant Christian

May 26, 2017

By Pete Cava

PBR Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS – Pushed back a day by inclement weather, IHSAA 2A Sectional 43 got underway Thursday evening at Park Tudor under cloudy skies with temperatures in the low sixties and a strong wind blowing out to left.

Park Tudor and Shortridge squared off in the first contest, followed by 2A/1A No. 3 Cardinal Ritter versus Covenant Christian.

PARK TUDOR 19, SHORTRIDGE 1

Four Panthers pitchers combined to no-hit the Blue Devils, striking out nine in a game that ended after five innings.

Shortridge (4-10) sent sophomore right-hander Cole McElroy to the mound against John Vlahos, Park Tudor's senior lefty.

The Panthers (5-15) went right to work, scoring three times in the home half of the first. Kyle Eckerle led off with a double and Trace Arbuckle followed with a run-scoring single to left. Arbuckle stole second and took third on Chris Wilson's infield hit. Arbuckle came in on a ground out to short and Wilson went home on a throwing error to give Park Tudor a 3-0 advantage.

Park Tudor added three more in the second. With two away, Kye Eckerle beat out an infield hit and stole second. After a walk to Trace Arbuckle, Chris Wilson's base hit drove in Eckerle. When Elijah Sutton followed with a bases-clearing double, the Panthers were up 6-0.

After striking out the side in the second, Vlahos gave way to sophomore right-hander Chris Wilson. Wilson, who came in from center field, fanned all three batters he faced.

The onslaught continued in the third when Park Tudor scored a pair of runs on two errors and a wild pitch. Paul Miller's RBI double to left made it 9-0. After the Panthers loaded the bases, Wilson's single brought in another run. Eckerle rode home on an infield error, and when Arbuckle came in on an infield out, Park Tudor's lead ballooned to 12-0.

Ethan Scroggins relieved Wilson in the fourth as Panthers coach Courtney Whitehead gave his bullpen a tuneup. Scroggins, a junior righty, pitched a scoreless frame.

In the bottom of the fourth for Shortridge, Jacob Poore moved to the mound from first base. Scroggins greeted him with a single, and the sacks were loaded when Poore beaned the next two batters. A walk to pinch-hitter Brett Liebross brought in one run, and two more came home on Clay Hanley's double.

Aiden Goldsmith replaced Poore and gave up a run on an infield hit. Park Tudor made it 19-0 on an outfield error, Jenny Oberthur’s single and a walk to Kyle Eckerle.

The fourth Park Tudor pitcher of the night, Graham Fisher, came on in the fifth. The junior right-hander struck out the side, but gave up Shortridge's lone tally on an error, two stolen bases and a wild pitch.

The Panther hurlers struck out nine of the 18 batters they faced while allowing three walks, two of them to Cole McElroy. Park Tudor’s offense was paced by Chris Wilson’s 3-for-3 performance. Wilson was playing his first game since suffering a concussion earlier in the season.

The game lasted an hour and 42 minutes.

CARDINAL RITTER 9, COVENANT CHRISTIAN 1

Three Raiders pitchers limited the Warriors (8-17) to a pair of hits as Cardinal Ritter upped its season record to 22-3.

Right-hander Blake Malatestinic, the 2017 All-City Player of the Year, started for the Raiders. The Eastern Illinois University recruit pitched the first five innings, giving up one hit and no walks while striking out four.

“Not a bad way to start,” Cardinal Ritter coach Dave Scott said after the one-hour, 57-minute contest. “Malatestinic came out here and threw well. We know we’ve always got a chance when he’s on the mound, I’ll tell you that. He’s a special kid.”

For the last two frames, Scott employed a couple of junior righties. Henry Woodcock, who opened the contest at first base, came on in the sixth and gave up Covenant Christian’s lone run. Luke Shearer blanked the Warriors in the seventh.

“We wanted to get a couple of guys some innings,” said Scott. “With this tournament, you never know. With pitch counts and all that, you need to make sure that everybody’s fresh, so we definitely wanted to do that today.”

Cardinal Ritter jumped Warriors starter Brennan Moran for three runs in the bottom of the first. Alex Vela opened the frame with a bunt single and took second on Kyle Price's sacrifice bunt. Jake Kluemper's line single to left plated Vela, and after a base on balls to Malatestinic, Ben Egenolf cleared the sacks with a double to the left-center field gap.

Moran left after the first inning. Covenant Christian center fielder Reid Replogle replaced him and surrendered four runs. The first tally came in on a balk, and two more runners crossed the plate on Kluemper's two-bagger. A sacrifice fly by Luke Shearer extended the Raider lead to 7-0,

In the bottom of the third, Connor Krizan moved from behind the plate to the hill for the Warriors and held Cardinal Ritter scoreless.

The Raiders solved Krizan in the bottom of the fourth. After a pair of walks, Egenolf’s second double of the night plated one run. Another sac fly by Shearer made it 9-0.

In the bottom of the fifth Isaac Huff, Covenant Christian's designated hitter, came in to pitch. The burly junior right-hander pitched a one-two-three inning.

Woodcock relieved Malatestinic in the top of the sixth and gave up an unearned run on a walk to Spencer Tinkey, Josiah's Grant's single and a throwing error.

Huff left the game in the sixth after Kluemper's leadoff single. Spencer Tinkey replaced him and prevented further damage.

Shearer, who started the game in left for Cardinal Ritter, pitched the final innings and fanned the last two batters he faced.

Kluemper, the Raiders’ center fielder, finished with three hits and three RBI while right Egenolf had three ribbies.

Notes

Park Tudor moves on to Monday's 10:00 a.m. semifinal against Scecina Memorial.

Cardinal Ritter will keep an eye on Friday's Cascade-Speedway first-round game at 1:00 p.m. The Raiders meet the winner of that contest in Monday's 12:30 semifinal.

Dave Scott said he hasn’t settled on the Raiders’ starting pitcher for the semifinal round. “We’re not a hundred percent sure yet,” said Scott. “We haven’t decided whether we’re going to go with Malatestinic or (Brian) Bacon. But it’s going to be one of those two guys. They’ve been good for us all year, so we feel confident with either one of them.”

The 2A Sectional 43 championship game takes place 7:00 P.M. Monday at Park Tudor.

Two female players saw action in Thursday’s opener. Park Tudor’s Jenny Oberthur entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fourth. The junior was hit by a pitch and scored a run, and then singled as the Panthers batted around. She was behind the plate for the final inning.

Shortridge sophomore Madelyn Grau took over at second base for the Blue Devils in fourth and had a putout.

Despite two days of bad weather, Park Tudor’s grounds crew had the field in excellent shape for Thursday’s contests.

Pete Cava is the author of “Tales From the Cubs Dugout” and “Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players: A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014.”