By Steve Krah
PBR Indiana Correspondent

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SOUTH BEND — A mercy-rule game and an extra-inning nail-biter. 

That’s what spectators Thursday, May 26 at the IHSAA Class 4A South Bend Clay Sectional saw as LaPorte beat South Bend Adams 12-1 in five innings and Mishawaka outlasted South Bend Clay 3-2 in nine innings. 

The Slicers (19-8) and Cavemen (11-16) will meet in the second semifinal Saturday, May 28, following the 11 a.m. semifinal between Plymouth and South Bend Riley. 

LaPorte 12, SB Adams 1

After Adams junior Spencer Nelson socked a home run over the Clay Field right field fence on the first pitch in the bottom of the first inning, it was all LaPorte. 

Junior right-hander Jon Williams tossed a one-hitter and the Slicers (19-8) powered (senior Brogan Briggs grand slam, junior Andy Samuelson solo shot and doubles by sophomore Will Malekovic and senior Jordan Fadke) past the Eagles (8-14) in the five-inning contest. 

“Our hitters did a great job, probably the best we’ve done all year — finally! — with our approach,” LaPorte coach Scott Upp said. “We hit the ball well 1 through 9. We’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting to see that.” 

Upp wants his hitters to always be the ones who initiate. 

“The first couple hitters swung at balls out of the strike zone, but that’s OK. We want to be aggressive. We’d rather go down swinging than letting the pitcher dictate. 

“You’re not going to win any ball games by watching pitches. You’re going to have to get after it.” 

LaPorte sent 12 batters to the plate during an eight-run third inning. 

After an RBI single by Fadke plated junior courtesy runner Austin Botsford (on by fielder’s choice by Malekovic), Briggs smacked a 1-0 pitch from sophomore right-hander Brandon Martens (2 1/3 innings, 5 runs, 4 hits, 0 strikeouts, 2 walks) to for the grand slam. 

Scoring ahead of Briggs were senior Max Fisher (on by single), sophomore Caleb Rettinger (on by walk) and Fadke before the Eagles went to junior right-hander Matt Foulks (1 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 3 hits, 0 strikeouts, 2 walks).

A sacrifice fly by Samuelson plated senior Travis Upp (on by single) and two-run double by Malekovic knocked in Williams (on by walk) and senior Tanner Hill (on by error).

LaPorte got one run in the fourth inning on a RBI double by Fadke, scoring Rettinger (on by walk).

The Slicers tallied three runs — all credited to sophomore right-hander Cooper Lee (2/3 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits, 1 strikeout, 3 walks) — in the fifth inning.

Samuelson led off the fame with a homer. He belted a 2-1 pitch to right field. Rettinger singled in a run and LaPorte’s 12th run came in via Adams error.

Eagles sophomore right-hander Breckin Brown (1 inning, 1 run, 0 hits, 0 strikeouts, 0 walks) faced the last five Slicer hitters.

Williams (5 innings, 1 runs, 1 hit, 9 strikeouts, 2 walks) was dominant after that first frame.

“It’s a little shorter park (311 feet down the left field line),” said Upp of Nelson homer. “The kid was ready for it and he put the barrel on it. What else can you say?

“Jon did a great job of not letting that bother him. He understands that it’s a long game. It was a good mentality by Jon on the mound.

“Jon was efficient. He worked ahead in the count a lot. When you throw Strike 1, it makes the game a lot easier.”

Adams defensive gems were turned in by second baseman Brown (jumping stab against Fisher) in the third inning and junior right fielder Connor Melanson (diving catch to rob Upp) in the fifth.

“We came out with a fight,” Eagles coach Mike Cass said. “But when you’re young and you play against an experienced playoff team like LaPorte, you better be able to play perfect baseball and we didn’t play perfect baseball.

“I told my kids to remember this 365 days from now because we don’t want that feeling again.”

Mishawaka 3, SB Clay 2

Junior Lucas Campbell hit a two-run with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Cavemen to victory.

Campbell rapped a 1-0 pitch from senior left-hander Nic Conner to center to plate freshman C.J. Fisher and sophomore Dylan Hall to end the 2-hour, 34-minute contest.

Fisher and Hall were on base a pinch-runners following back-to-back walks to junior Bryson Stutesman and senior Ashten Williams.

“Clay played their hearts out and they are a very solid team,” Mishawaka coach John Huemmer said. “We finbally got out break and we get to play Saturday.”

Left-hander Campbell (9 innings, 1 run, 4 hits, 8 strikeouts, 8 walks) was the winning pitcher and tossing more than 140 pitches.

The Mishawaka southpaw retired the first batter in the first, second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

“He was very effective,” Huemmer said. “He was getting his curveball over for strikes and locating his fastball when he needed to.”

With Campbell tiring, Huemmer said that he would have gone to junior right-hander Luke Shively had been extended to the 10th inning.

Clay broke a scoreless tie with an unearned run in the top of the fourth inning.

Junior Trenton Stoner reached base on an error, moved to second base on a single to center by senior Colin Greve then to third on a sacrifice bunt by senior Chantz Stover and scored on a wild pitch.

Mishawaka tied the score at 1-1 one run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Lead-off hitter Shively reached base on an error, moved to second base on junior Ryan Wroblewski’s sacrifice bunt then tired on senior Sam Fry’s single to right and scored on senior Hunter Martsolf’s groundout to second base against Conner (2 2/3 innings, 2 runs, 2 hits, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks).

The run was credited to Clay starter and right-hander Greve (5 1/3 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts, 0 walks).

The rally ended with Cavemen runners at second and third. Mishawka stranded at least one runner in all but two innings and left seven for the game.

Clay threatened in the top of the seventh inning.

After two quick groundouts, junior Michael Payne and sophomore J.P. Kehoe drew back-to-back walks for the Colonials before Campbell racked up an inning-ending strikeout and pushed Clay’s left-on-base total to that point to eight. 

Clay went ahead 2-1 with one run in the ninth.

Junior Cole Steveken, who did not even start, lashed a 2-1 pitch to the right field fence for a one-out triple but was erased at the plate moments later.

Caveman freshman second baseman Grant Jablonski took a grounder off the bat of Colonials senior Carlos Oritz and fired to catcher Martsolf, who applied the tag on Steveken for the second out of the inning.

Clay kept the inning going and when senior Keiji Pankhurst took a full-count pitch for a bases-loaded walk it forced in Ortiz (on by fielder’s choice) with the go-ahead run.

The game had plenty of sharp defensive plays and both Mishawaka and Clay catchers threw out would-be base stealers — Parkhurst in the second inning and Martsolf in the first.

“We had one error, but we did a great job of playing defense behind Campbell,” Huemmer said. 

The Colonials wound up leaving 11 baserunners.

“We had chances,” Colonials coach Joel Reinebold said. “We just didn’t capitalize on them.

“I told these guys all year long to compete and give it everything they’ve got. They gave it everything they had. Their tank was empty.”