No. 3 SLUH wins again as Kuebel out-duels Bouman

May 4, 2011

By Mike Rosenbaum

ST. LOUIS - Tuesday?s game of the day featured a duel between two of the state?s best left-handed hurlers: No. 3 St. Louis University High?s Sasha Kuebel (right), who will pitch for the University of Iowa next year, and DeSmet?s Kyle Bouman, a Wichita St. recruit.

While the match up was just as advertised, the game carried extra significance for the Junior Billikens (17-0), who have not lost a game this season. And once again, it was Kuebel who led the charge, besting Bouman on the mound and homering in the 4-3 victory.

Kuebel, who is also the team?s cleanup hitter, put SLUH on the board in the top of the first before even toeing the slab. After SS Mitch Klug (right) reached on an infield error and stole second base, Kuebel plated the junior with a single through the right side.

DeSmet (11-8) came to life in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs with two outs thanks in part to an infield error. The Spartans put runners on first and second with two outs, after 2B Killian Knowles singled to right and SS Zak Larkin drew a walk. The next batter, Bouman, smoked a ball to Klug, who had the ball glance off the top of his glove and into left-center, allowing Knowles to score from second. Larkin scored moments later on a passed ball to give DeSmet a 2-1 lead.

That score held until the sixth, when Kuebel tied the game with a mammoth home run to straight-away center to lead off the inning.

?I?ve never had a lot of success hitting at DeSmet because their mound is a little off-center, but (Bouman) threw me a fastball at the belt and I put a good swing on it,? said the future Hawkeye of his blast.

After a pair of ground outs, the Jr. Bills rallied for one more run to take a 3-2 lead, as RF Kaleb King plated DH Mark Jaskowiak with an RBI knock past Larkin.

DeSmet wasn?t done yet, though, as they would battle back to tie the game in the home half of the inning. CF Brandon Gutzler (right) kicked off the inning with a ground-rule double to right-center ? the only extra-base hit that Kuebel allowed on the day. After failing to get down a sacrifice bunt, LF Nick Rumpling came through when he ripped a 2-2 fastball back up the box to tie the game at 3-3.

But just as he?s done all season, the fiercely-competitive Kuebel took the game into his own hands when he lined a single to right field with one out in the seventh. 1B Andrew Pitts followed with an infield single to shortstop before LF Sam Knesel gave SLUH a 4-3 lead with an RBI single.

In the bottom of the seventh, it was clear that Kuebel could smell the victory, as he retired the Spartans in order to preserve SLUH?s perfect season.

?In the sixth, when DeSmet tied the game, I thought he was looking a little bit tired and his pitch count was getting high,? said SLUH head coach Steve Nicollerat. ?But I decided that if we took the lead, we?d have Sasha go back out there. You can?t have a better guy out there for one inning than him.?

The 1-2-3 inning capped a stellar day for the senior, who improved to 5-0 on the mound and went 3-for-4 with his first home run of the season.

?He?s got that fire you can?t coach?you just recognize it and appreciate it,? added Nicollerat.

Kuebel allowed one earned run on six hits, fanned eight and walked three in his fifth complete game of the season. The southpaw?s fastball sat at 86-87 mph on Tuesday, and showed significant arm-side run. He also featured a changeup at 77-78 mph, as well as a curve at 70-73 mph.

His success came mostly from his fastball and change, however, as the DeSmet offense laid off what is normally a swing-and-miss curveball. From the beginning of the game, they exhibited a patient approach at the dish, primarily trying to take Kuebel back up the middle and to the right side.

Besides Kuebel?s big day at the plate, Klug (right) was 1-for-4 with a run scored and stolen base, Pitts was 2-for-4, and King was 2-for-2 with an RBI.

Bouman was once again the tough-luck loser for DeSmet. The Wichita State-bound senior threw his third complete game of the season, allowing three earned runs on 11 hits. He struck out four, walked one and hit a batter in the loss. Similar to Keubel, Bouman?s fastball sat between 83-85 mph and topped out at 86 mph, and was complemented by an impressive 73-75 mph changeup.

After the game, SLUH head coach Steve Nicollerat was highly complimentary of the DeSmet ace: ?Kyle?s a really good pitcher and I was hoping that we?d be a little more aggressive on his fastball. He had really good command of his offspeed pitches and made it really hard on us. We were fortunate in the sense that we got some timely hitting and made the plays that we should make in the heart of a game between two evenly matched teams.?

?Kyle always comes out and throws strikes," echoed Kuebel. ?He?s a tough pitcher and threw a heck of a game?so a lot of credit to him.?

Knowles was 2-for-3 with a run scored and walk for the Spartans, and Gutzler and Larkin were both 1-for-3 and scored a run.

NOTES:

Kuebel?s complete game was his fifth in six starts, and he now has 48 strikeouts in 35 innings.
His 3-for-4 performance raised his batting average to an even .500 for the season, and he leads the team with 22 RBI.
Mitch Klug stole his 23^rd base of the season on Tuesday, which is the third highest in the St. Louis Metro area.
DeSmet squandered a prime opportunity to take the lead in the bottom of the fifth, as the Spartans couldn?t muster a run with the bases-loaded and one out.
Bouman recorded 11 ground ball outs in the CG
After they each scored a run in the contest, Knowles and Gutzler are tied with a team-best 17 runs scored
Gutzler, a sophomore, hit his fourth double and is currently hitting .302 in a breakout season