By Steve Krah
PBR Indiana Correspondent

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A few well-timed hits and the ability to execute helped NorthWood top visiting Concord 9-3 Monday, April 18 in the Northern Lakes Conference baseball opener for both squads. 

The Panthers (5-1 overall, 1-0 NLC) broke open a close game with a five-run sixth inning, highlighted by a three-run double by left-handed-swinging junior Vincent Herschberger. 

Herschberger’s two-out two-bagger to left field plated sophomore Payton Bear (on base with a double to left), junior pinch runner Travis Stephenson (on when sophomore Brant Mast reached by sacrifice and error) and junior Vinny Miranda (on by single to left). 

NorthWood had three sacrifice bunts (Mast, junior Jaron Mullet and junior Drake Gongwer) and a sacrifice fly (Mullet in the sixth) in topping the Minutemen (2-4, 0-1). 

Gongwer’s single to center produced one of the Panthers’ sixth-inning runs. 

“They do the little things right when they are put into certain situations,” NorthWood coach Jay Sheets said of his players. “That’s every coach’s dream — when you can go out and do what you’ve been practicing.” 

Sheets noted that the 2015 team bunted frequently and stolen several bases. And while he doesn’t want to take that ability out of his squad’s arsenal, he doesn’t expect small ball to be the rule in 2016. 

“This year — 1 through 9 — we’re pretty solid hitting,” Sheets said. “That’s one thing we’ve been practicing a lot. We want to drive the baseball.” 

The Panthers spread the offensive wealth Monday with four players — Herschberger, Miranda, Bear and senior Tanner Cleveland — have two hits each in a 10-hit game. 

Right-hander Miranda (3-0; 5 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks) surrendered a single to left by senior Raleigh Ball on the game’s first pitch, but got the lead-off man in each of the next four innings that he worked. 

“(Vinny’s) a competitor and he does a great job for us,” Sheets said. “(Concord’s) got a lot of good sticks at the top of their lineup and Vinny throws a lot of off-speed stuff. That’s usually his bread-and-butter and he can work it really well.” 

First-year Minutemen coach Eric Nielsen noticed the Panthers’ pitching strategy. 

“They did a good job of backward pitching us today,” Nielsen said. “They went with a lot of first-pitch breaking balls and went fastball when they got up (in the count).  

“I didn’t think (Miranda’s) curveball was anything great, but he was able to locate it and keep us off-balance with it.” 

Right-hander Hershberger pitched two hitless and scoreless innings of relief for NorthWood after taking the mound with his club leading 4-3.  

“He handled his nerves and played real well,” Sheets said of Herschberger, who also made a big defensive play at third base when he took a scorcher near the foul line and threw out senior Jason Grooms to open the Concord fourth inning. 

The Panthers scored two runs in the first inning and one each in the second and third frames to take a 4-0 lead on Minutemen right-hander Ball (0-2; 5 2/3 innings, 9 runs, 9 hits, 1 strikeout, 4 walks). 

In the NorthWood first, a single to center by Herschberger drove in Cleveland (on with a single to left) and an infield hit by junior Drew Minnich plated senior Chad Sellers (on by walk). 

A single to center by Miranda knocked in Mast (on by error) in the Panthers second. 

A Concord double play — senior shortstop Luke Simon to second baseman Grooms to junior first baseman Jake Diver — shortened the NorthWood rally. 

Herschberger walked and later scored on a single by left by Bear in the third inning for the Panthers’ fourth run. 

Nielsen saw positives in his team’s performance and at the top of the list was a refusal to quit. The Minutemen came back with three runs — all after two outs — in the fourth inning. 

“We were right there with them,” Nielsen said. “We never gave up.” 

Concord send nine batters to the plate in the fourth.  

Luke Schrock’s single to center drove in Diver (who had also singled up the middle) and Ball’s double to left brought home senior Henry Moore (who walked) and Schrock. 

A couple of other defensive highlights for Concord came in the first inning when sophomore right fielder Jack Lietzan ran in to snag a fly as it popped out of the glove of second baseman Grooms and a sliding catch in foul territory in the fifth inning by senior left fielder Gavin Coughenour. 

Nielsen had more good things to say about his team. 

“We did make some errors in the field, but they were aggressive errors,” Nielsen said. “They were not mental errors. So I was pretty happy about that. 

“(Ball) pitched pretty well,” Nielsen said. :He did have some errors behind him. He battled and got better as the game went on. (NorthWood) had some timely hits.” 

Right-hander Simon (1/3 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 strikeouts, 1 walk) finished up on the hill for the Minutemen.

Both teams are at home in NLC play Wednesday, April 20. Northridge visits NorthWood and Plymouth goes to Concord.