BASEBALL: Panthers pounce to beat Hot Dogs in sectional opener
May 23—Western's baseball team scored seven runs in the second inning to fuel a 10-6 victory over Frankfort in the Class 3A Northwestern Sectional opener on Wednesday.
The big inning came after No. 7-ranked Western (22-4) had a shaky first inning in a rematch of last year's sectional final. The Hot Dogs (12-16) scored two runs in the top of the inning and the Panthers failed to score in the bottom of the frame after putting runners on first and second with no outs.
In the bottom of the second inning, Western's first nine batters all reached base. Peyton Kauble started it with a leadoff double, Gavin Denton and Brady Comer had RBI singles, Ryan Rodman had a two-run double and Levi Shoemaker had an RBI single. Kyler Norman had a double during the uprising and the Hot Dogs had two errors and a pitching change before the dust settled with the Panthers leading 7-2.
"Us responding in the second inning and putting up seven runs was big," Western coach Ryan Berryman said. "We put the pressure on them defensively. Cal Berryman had a bunt [after Kauble's leadoff double] that got things moving. They didn't play it right and he got on there. From there, we caught some barrels and we had some momentum.
'We could have gotten a couple more, we left some stuff out there, but it was a good job responding, and it gave us some breathing room. They weren't going away. In this ballpark, with this wind, routine flyballs are ground-rule doubles."
Frankfort came right back in the top of the third, taking advantage of a ground-rule double and three Western errors to score three runs and draw within 7-5. But the Panthers kept the Hot Dogs at bay the rest of the way. It was 8-5 after three innings, 9-6 after four and 10-6 after five.
From there, Western relief pitcher Jaxsen Trueblood slammed the door shut on Frankfort with 1.2 scoreless innings. The Panther freshman allowed two hits, struck out three and walked one.
"Trueblood has been awesome for us. He comes in and closes the door again," Ryan Berryman said.
Trueblood picked up his fourth save to go with a 5-0 record.
"He's started a couple games, but he's really strong out of the bullpen just because he's a strike-thrower, and he's very poised for a freshman. He doesn't get rattled and he's going to attack hitters," Ryan Berryman said.
Starting pitcher James Paden worked 5.1 innings for the win. Paden (7-0) allowed six runs (three earned) and nine hits. He struck out six, walked one and hit the final batter he faced with a pitch.
"James did a good job," Ryan Berryman said. "It's hard to pitch on a day like [Wednesday], but he did a good job of keeping them off balance. When he was working ahead with his slider, they weren't hitting him at all. When he got behind, they were catching some barrels, but he did enough to keep us right where we needed to be."
Norman finished 2 for 2 with two walks from the leadoff spot for the Panthers. He drove in a run and scored two runs. No. 2 batter Ryan Rodman was 2 for 4 with three RBI and Kauble was 2 for 4 with two runs. Cal Berryman had an RBI single.
Matthew Berry went 4 for 4 for the Hot Dogs with two of their three ground-rule doubles.
Western advances to face North Montgomery (18-7) in the semifinal round at 5 p.m. today. North Montgomery beat West Lafayette 16-3 in Wednesday's second game.
Ryan Berryman is expecting the Chargers to throw senior Jarrod Kirsch (6-1 record, 1.84 ERA). Western beat Kirsch and North Montgomery 2-0 in the opening round last year.
Northwestern and No. 8 Twin Lakes meet in the second semifinal tonight.
Bryan Gaskins is the Tribune's sports editor. He may be reached at bryan.gaskins@kokomotribune.com or 765-454-8567.
