4A Elkhart Sectional: Memorial, Concord both Advance

By Steve Krah
PBR Indiana Correspondent

ELKHART — Strong pitching and aggressive offensive play helped Elkhart Memorial put away Goshen and Concord top Elkhart Central Thursday, May 29, in the first round of the Class 4A Elkhart Sectional baseball tournament.

The Crimson Chargers (17-11-1) earned a 5-0 win against Redskins (3-25) while the Minutemen (13-15) posted a 6-1 triumph against the Blue Blazers (5-20). Central won the 4A state title in 2013.

4A Elkhart SectionalThe semifinals at Memorial's Charger Field are scheduled for Saturday, May 31 — Memorial against Concord at 10 a.m., followed by Northridge against Warsaw. The sectional final is slated for 6 p.m. Monday, June 2.

Elkhart Memorial 5, Goshen 0

Senior left-hander Jake Tucker, a Manchester College commit, tossed a three-hitter and improved to 9-1 for Memorial. He gave up singles to junior Tyler Born and junior Adam Pearson in the first inning and a single to senior Jorge Pizana in the fifth.

The Chargers, the Northern Lakes Conference co-champions with 3A NorthWood, got two doubles and three runs batted in from sophomore designated hitter Lane Schultz.

"He's got great bat speed and a lot of pop in his bat," said Chargers coach Scott Rost of Schultz. "He's working really hard to improve mechanically."

Memorial scored three runs in the fourth inning on a two-run double by Schultz and run-scoring single by Tucker.

"For whatever reason, we've been shut down a lot in the first two or three innings and we haven't scored until the middle of the game," said Rost. "Our guys feel comfortable not scoring early. It's something that did not bother them."

The Chargers' two-run sixth featured an RBI double by Schultz and a one-run single by senior Brock Herman.

"We go up there and we try to attack strikes and get after it," said Rost. "We did not see (Goshen senior starter Deric Haynes) during the regular season and he did well, especially early. Once we got through the lineup the first time, we felt a little more comfortable. Then we were able to square up some fastballs and do some damage."

Alum Josh Keister was a first-year head coach for the Redskins.

Concord 6, Elkhart Central 1

Senior right-hander Nick DeFreese kept the Blazers off-balance with his breaking ball, fanning nine and giving up one hit (a fourth-inning single to sophomore Raleigh Ball) during a five-inning start.

"The splitter was working for me," said DeFreese. "It's my go-to pitch."
DeFreese, who also joined classmate Stephen Pinarski in driving in two runs, explained the Minutemen's offensive approach.

"The last few games we've been watching a lot of third strikes," said DeFreese. "In practice, we've been stressing going for the fastball on the first pitch."

Momentum has been building for Concord in recent weeks.

"We started kicking it up a the end of the season," said DeFreese. "It's all about pitching and the last few games, we've been outstanding. We've held down the walks."

Pinarski scored two runs and had one of the Minutemen's three stolen bases (the other two were swiped by senior lead-off man Duncan Boone and senior Matt Williams).

"Boone, DeFreese and (Brenden) Curry have the greenlight," said Concord coach Jim Treadway. "We put the ball in ball tonight and we moved the runners when we needed to."

Central got two runners on in the first inning on two Minutemen fielding miscues, but came away with no runs.

"They capitalized on our mistakes," said Blazers coach Steve Stutsman. "That was the difference,

"We couldn't get over the hump. We kept battling and battling and couldn't score runs. Unfortunately, that's how the season went."

Senior Kyle Smith pitched into the third inning for Central before senior Micah Bowyer worked three innings of one-run ball and senior Colin Rudicil put up a zero in the sixth.

"I'm proud of my kids," said Stutsman. "They never gave up. They kept battling to the very end."