CMA Pounds Valley
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
MENTONE - As Tippecanoe Valley baseball coach Pat O'Connell stood in the batter's box and hit ground balls to his infielders before Tuesday's game with Culver Military Academy, he became so impressed with his team's practice that he remarked:
"Pretty soon you guys will be good enough that I will be able to come here and sit in the dugout like a pro baseball manager."
The players methodically went about their business. The fielding was crisp. Infielders gloved ground balls and rifled them over to first.
Then the game started.
CMA dismantled Valley 16-2 in five innings. The turning point in this game? The first inning, said O'Connell.
"Normally, I wouldn't say the first inning would be that big of a key," O'Connell said. "But tonight it was big, and I'll tell you why. Last night (Monday) we had a heartbreaker loss, 4-3 to Caston, in a game we should have won.
"Several things happened last night, and it carried over today."
Valley right-handed starter Jason Miller retired the first two CMA hitters on infield popouts. The chances of a 1-2-3 opening inning looked good.
Two errors later, the Vikings had let that opportunity slip away. They gave CMA five outs instead of three.
David Lower started the rally by reaching first on a grounder that went through the legs of Valley shortstop Joey Francis for an error. Cleanup hitter Kenny Kearns hit a fly ball to the outfield that appeared to be an easy out. That is, until center fielder Sam Kerkhoff and left fielder Terry Engstrand collided.
As Kerkhoff and Engstrand bounced off each other, the ball bounced away. Lower scored, and Kearns ended up at second.
Nick Nimerala's bat made the Vikings pay for their errors. He launched a two-run homer over the left-field fence to put CMA up 3-0.
"Jason Miller is the only senior pitcher, and it seems like every time he takes the mound, something like this happens to him," O'Connell said.
"For his mental capacity to have to handle that time after time, it's hurting. Two errors right off the bat, simple, easy catches. It took Miller right out of his game, no doubt about it. He's a better pitcher than that."
The bottom of the inning wasn't much better. More lost opportunities.
With one out, Kerkhoff and R.J. Hutchison singled, and cleanup hitter Bo Wohead walked. Bases loaded.
But Nimerala again came through. Nimerala, the right-handed starter, wriggled free. He got Matt Bose to pop out to the shortstop and Engstrand to strike out to end the Valley threat and the inning.
CMA took a 6-1 lead after two innings then blew the game open in the third. The Eagles sent 14 men to the plate as they scored nine runs on nine hits. They played aggressive baseball, stealing four bases. They often advanced a base because of the Vikings having problems finding and hitting cutoff men.
"We make two or three errors, or maybe just one, at a crucial time that I'm not happy with," O'Connell said. "In tonight's game, missing cutoff men hurt me. We missed cutoff man after cutoff man. Five times we missed cutoff men tonight. Five times. That sticks in my head."
"You have to shut the runner down at first and set up the double play. We didn't do that. We were never in that situation to set up a double play, because we missed the cutoff men."
Miller left having allowed 15 runs in 2 2/3 innings.
Nimerala finished 3 for 3 with three runs, two RBIs and a stolen base. Will Ryan went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, two runs and two stolen bases.
It all went back to the first inning, O'Connell said. Get the 1-2-3 inning, and who knows what happens?
"The whole game would have changed," O'Connell said. "Miller would have had a great game. I'm almost positive we would have had a two- or three-run game either way. My guys, when they are up, can hit the ball. I have good hitters. Going into the Caston game, our team average was .352.
"This mentally affects them and brings everybody down. They weren't able to come out of it tonight."
Valley, 5-6-1, has a 4:30 p.m. Thursday game at Bethany Christian.
"Maybe this can still work in our favor," O'Connell said. "CMA is a sectional team. Maybe we draw them in the first game of the sectional, and maybe they think they can blow us away.
"Obviously this performance tonight was not one of our routine games." [[In-content Ad]]
MENTONE - As Tippecanoe Valley baseball coach Pat O'Connell stood in the batter's box and hit ground balls to his infielders before Tuesday's game with Culver Military Academy, he became so impressed with his team's practice that he remarked:
"Pretty soon you guys will be good enough that I will be able to come here and sit in the dugout like a pro baseball manager."
The players methodically went about their business. The fielding was crisp. Infielders gloved ground balls and rifled them over to first.
Then the game started.
CMA dismantled Valley 16-2 in five innings. The turning point in this game? The first inning, said O'Connell.
"Normally, I wouldn't say the first inning would be that big of a key," O'Connell said. "But tonight it was big, and I'll tell you why. Last night (Monday) we had a heartbreaker loss, 4-3 to Caston, in a game we should have won.
"Several things happened last night, and it carried over today."
Valley right-handed starter Jason Miller retired the first two CMA hitters on infield popouts. The chances of a 1-2-3 opening inning looked good.
Two errors later, the Vikings had let that opportunity slip away. They gave CMA five outs instead of three.
David Lower started the rally by reaching first on a grounder that went through the legs of Valley shortstop Joey Francis for an error. Cleanup hitter Kenny Kearns hit a fly ball to the outfield that appeared to be an easy out. That is, until center fielder Sam Kerkhoff and left fielder Terry Engstrand collided.
As Kerkhoff and Engstrand bounced off each other, the ball bounced away. Lower scored, and Kearns ended up at second.
Nick Nimerala's bat made the Vikings pay for their errors. He launched a two-run homer over the left-field fence to put CMA up 3-0.
"Jason Miller is the only senior pitcher, and it seems like every time he takes the mound, something like this happens to him," O'Connell said.
"For his mental capacity to have to handle that time after time, it's hurting. Two errors right off the bat, simple, easy catches. It took Miller right out of his game, no doubt about it. He's a better pitcher than that."
The bottom of the inning wasn't much better. More lost opportunities.
With one out, Kerkhoff and R.J. Hutchison singled, and cleanup hitter Bo Wohead walked. Bases loaded.
But Nimerala again came through. Nimerala, the right-handed starter, wriggled free. He got Matt Bose to pop out to the shortstop and Engstrand to strike out to end the Valley threat and the inning.
CMA took a 6-1 lead after two innings then blew the game open in the third. The Eagles sent 14 men to the plate as they scored nine runs on nine hits. They played aggressive baseball, stealing four bases. They often advanced a base because of the Vikings having problems finding and hitting cutoff men.
"We make two or three errors, or maybe just one, at a crucial time that I'm not happy with," O'Connell said. "In tonight's game, missing cutoff men hurt me. We missed cutoff man after cutoff man. Five times we missed cutoff men tonight. Five times. That sticks in my head."
"You have to shut the runner down at first and set up the double play. We didn't do that. We were never in that situation to set up a double play, because we missed the cutoff men."
Miller left having allowed 15 runs in 2 2/3 innings.
Nimerala finished 3 for 3 with three runs, two RBIs and a stolen base. Will Ryan went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, two runs and two stolen bases.
It all went back to the first inning, O'Connell said. Get the 1-2-3 inning, and who knows what happens?
"The whole game would have changed," O'Connell said. "Miller would have had a great game. I'm almost positive we would have had a two- or three-run game either way. My guys, when they are up, can hit the ball. I have good hitters. Going into the Caston game, our team average was .352.
"This mentally affects them and brings everybody down. They weren't able to come out of it tonight."
Valley, 5-6-1, has a 4:30 p.m. Thursday game at Bethany Christian.
"Maybe this can still work in our favor," O'Connell said. "CMA is a sectional team. Maybe we draw them in the first game of the sectional, and maybe they think they can blow us away.
"Obviously this performance tonight was not one of our routine games." [[In-content Ad]]