Tigers Fall In Regional Baseball Game
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
On the surface, it seemed that everything pointed to a Warsaw win.
It was a picturesque Tuesday afternoon at Tiger Field as a record crowd watched Warsaw host Fort Wayne Snider in a one-game regional, with the winner earning a berth in Saturday's Lafayette Semistate.
It all seemed perfect until the Panthers stepped to the plate.
Snider tore the cover off the ball en route to a 10-1 win as catcher Brett Dennon hit two home runs.
Dennon, batting clean-up, finished 3 for 4 with the two long balls and four RBI as the first five batters in the Snider lineup accounted for all 10 Snider runs.
Dennon's first home run torpedoed into the Tigers' dilapidated scoreboard to push the Panther lead to 3-0.
Warsaw responded in the bottom of the third when rightfielder Evan Lancaster scored on a single by leadoff hitter Kyler Mylin after Lancaster reached on a walk.
After Snider scored another run in the fourth to extend its lead to 4-1, Warsaw finally looked for a big inning in the bottom of the fourth.
Despite having to contend with Panther pitcher Tony Sedlmeyer, who is going to Louisiana State University on a baseball scholarship, the Tigers didn't look overmatched.
ESPN 1480's Andy Manes clocked Sedlmeyer's fastball at 91 miles per hour and his curveball at 75, but the Tigers were still able to make contact.
Jordan Kistler led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, then advanced to second on a single by Derek Freds.
John Sommers pinch ran for Kistler, who was pitching in relief of Matt Ransbottom.
When catcher Braden Kline roped a single to right field, Sommers came around third base looking to score standing up but lost his footing rounding the bag, forcing him to stay at third base.
Freds came racing toward third as Sommers returned, which forced both runners into a rundown.
Sommers was tagged out while Freds reached safely.
The inning abruptly came to an end when senior shortstop Mark Sudhoff grounded into a 6-3 double play.
What could have been a big inning for Warsaw turned into what Warsaw coach Mike Hepler called, "the turning point of the game".
"It was a bad break," said Hepler of Sommers' fall. "I was the most surprised person when he was still standing there (at third base)."
And while Warsaw could have made things interesting with a big fourth inning, Hepler was willing to concede that Snider was the better team.
"We have to play a higher level of baseball against a team like Fort Wayne Snider," said Hepler. "They're a really solid team and that catcher of their's (Dennon) had two mammoth home runs."
Kevin Cahill went 4 for 5 with a home run and had two runs and two RBI for Snider while leftfielder Jeffery Batesole had three hits and two RBI.
Sedlmeyer pitched five innings, giving up four hits and one run, which was earned. He struck out four and gave up the lone walk to Lancaster.
Chris LaGrow, who will pitch at South Alabama this fall, pitched two perfect innings of relief while striking out four.
For Warsaw, Ransbottom started the game but struggled with getting ahead of batters. The 6-foot-4 righty pitched three innings while giving up three earned runs and striking out two.
Ransbottom finished the season with a record of 9-2.
Kistler and Freds finished the game, giving up five and two runs, respectively.
Mylin drove in the lone Tiger run and had one of Warsaw's four hits. Kistler, Freds and Kline had the other hits for the Tigers.
Despite a tough loss, one positive that could be taken from Tuesday night's game was the crowd Warsaw drew.
The Warsaw Athletic Department brought in portable seating to allow for 500 people. The bleachers were full and spectators lined the fence up and down both the third and first base lines. There were also a number of fans camped outside the fence.
The Warsaw Athletic Department said 617 fans bought tickets to Tuesday's game and estimated the total number of fans present to be close to 700.
"I was telling the guys, 'look what you did to this town," said Hepler. "This is your legacy. You got interest in Warsaw for baseball. I told the seniors to take that with them. And for the younger guys, I told them to remember how it felt today and just how fun it was."
Warsaw finished the year with a record of 17-11.
FW SNIDER 10, WARSAW 1
FW Snider
AB R H RBI
Parrent cf 2 2 0 0
Cahill ss 5 2 4 2
Sedlmeyer p, 3b 5 2 1 0
Dennon c 4 2 3 4
Grate rf 3 2 1 0
Batesole lf 4 0 3 2
Painter 1b 3 0 0 0
Vonderau ph 1 0 0 0
Bieker 3b 3 0 0 0
Johnson 2b 2 0 0 0
Totals 32 10 12 8
Warsaw
AB R H RBI
Mylin cf 3 0 1 1
Hanson lf 3 0 0 0
Kistler dh, p 2 0 1 0
Ransbottom p 0 0 0 0
Himes 3b 1 0 0 0
Freds 2b, p 3 0 1 0
Kline c 3 0 1 0
Sudhoff ss 3 0 0 0
Lancaster rf 1 1 0 0
Sale 1b 2 0 0 0
Brumbaugh 3b, 2b 2 0 0 0
Totals 23 1 4 1
Warsaw (17-11) 001 000 0 - 1 4 2
FW Snider (23-6) 201 114 1 - 10 12 1
IP H R ER BB SO
FW Snider
Sedlmeyer (W, 5.0 4 1 1 1 4
LaGrow 2.0 0 0 0 0 4
Warsaw
Ransbottom (L, 9-2) 3.0 3 3 3 0 2
Kistler 2.1 4 5 5 3 3
Freds 1.2 3 2 2 0 1 [[In-content Ad]]
On the surface, it seemed that everything pointed to a Warsaw win.
It was a picturesque Tuesday afternoon at Tiger Field as a record crowd watched Warsaw host Fort Wayne Snider in a one-game regional, with the winner earning a berth in Saturday's Lafayette Semistate.
It all seemed perfect until the Panthers stepped to the plate.
Snider tore the cover off the ball en route to a 10-1 win as catcher Brett Dennon hit two home runs.
Dennon, batting clean-up, finished 3 for 4 with the two long balls and four RBI as the first five batters in the Snider lineup accounted for all 10 Snider runs.
Dennon's first home run torpedoed into the Tigers' dilapidated scoreboard to push the Panther lead to 3-0.
Warsaw responded in the bottom of the third when rightfielder Evan Lancaster scored on a single by leadoff hitter Kyler Mylin after Lancaster reached on a walk.
After Snider scored another run in the fourth to extend its lead to 4-1, Warsaw finally looked for a big inning in the bottom of the fourth.
Despite having to contend with Panther pitcher Tony Sedlmeyer, who is going to Louisiana State University on a baseball scholarship, the Tigers didn't look overmatched.
ESPN 1480's Andy Manes clocked Sedlmeyer's fastball at 91 miles per hour and his curveball at 75, but the Tigers were still able to make contact.
Jordan Kistler led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, then advanced to second on a single by Derek Freds.
John Sommers pinch ran for Kistler, who was pitching in relief of Matt Ransbottom.
When catcher Braden Kline roped a single to right field, Sommers came around third base looking to score standing up but lost his footing rounding the bag, forcing him to stay at third base.
Freds came racing toward third as Sommers returned, which forced both runners into a rundown.
Sommers was tagged out while Freds reached safely.
The inning abruptly came to an end when senior shortstop Mark Sudhoff grounded into a 6-3 double play.
What could have been a big inning for Warsaw turned into what Warsaw coach Mike Hepler called, "the turning point of the game".
"It was a bad break," said Hepler of Sommers' fall. "I was the most surprised person when he was still standing there (at third base)."
And while Warsaw could have made things interesting with a big fourth inning, Hepler was willing to concede that Snider was the better team.
"We have to play a higher level of baseball against a team like Fort Wayne Snider," said Hepler. "They're a really solid team and that catcher of their's (Dennon) had two mammoth home runs."
Kevin Cahill went 4 for 5 with a home run and had two runs and two RBI for Snider while leftfielder Jeffery Batesole had three hits and two RBI.
Sedlmeyer pitched five innings, giving up four hits and one run, which was earned. He struck out four and gave up the lone walk to Lancaster.
Chris LaGrow, who will pitch at South Alabama this fall, pitched two perfect innings of relief while striking out four.
For Warsaw, Ransbottom started the game but struggled with getting ahead of batters. The 6-foot-4 righty pitched three innings while giving up three earned runs and striking out two.
Ransbottom finished the season with a record of 9-2.
Kistler and Freds finished the game, giving up five and two runs, respectively.
Mylin drove in the lone Tiger run and had one of Warsaw's four hits. Kistler, Freds and Kline had the other hits for the Tigers.
Despite a tough loss, one positive that could be taken from Tuesday night's game was the crowd Warsaw drew.
The Warsaw Athletic Department brought in portable seating to allow for 500 people. The bleachers were full and spectators lined the fence up and down both the third and first base lines. There were also a number of fans camped outside the fence.
The Warsaw Athletic Department said 617 fans bought tickets to Tuesday's game and estimated the total number of fans present to be close to 700.
"I was telling the guys, 'look what you did to this town," said Hepler. "This is your legacy. You got interest in Warsaw for baseball. I told the seniors to take that with them. And for the younger guys, I told them to remember how it felt today and just how fun it was."
Warsaw finished the year with a record of 17-11.
FW SNIDER 10, WARSAW 1
FW Snider
AB R H RBI
Parrent cf 2 2 0 0
Cahill ss 5 2 4 2
Sedlmeyer p, 3b 5 2 1 0
Dennon c 4 2 3 4
Grate rf 3 2 1 0
Batesole lf 4 0 3 2
Painter 1b 3 0 0 0
Vonderau ph 1 0 0 0
Bieker 3b 3 0 0 0
Johnson 2b 2 0 0 0
Totals 32 10 12 8
Warsaw
AB R H RBI
Mylin cf 3 0 1 1
Hanson lf 3 0 0 0
Kistler dh, p 2 0 1 0
Ransbottom p 0 0 0 0
Himes 3b 1 0 0 0
Freds 2b, p 3 0 1 0
Kline c 3 0 1 0
Sudhoff ss 3 0 0 0
Lancaster rf 1 1 0 0
Sale 1b 2 0 0 0
Brumbaugh 3b, 2b 2 0 0 0
Totals 23 1 4 1
Warsaw (17-11) 001 000 0 - 1 4 2
FW Snider (23-6) 201 114 1 - 10 12 1
IP H R ER BB SO
FW Snider
Sedlmeyer (W, 5.0 4 1 1 1 4
LaGrow 2.0 0 0 0 0 4
Warsaw
Ransbottom (L, 9-2) 3.0 3 3 3 0 2
Kistler 2.1 4 5 5 3 3
Freds 1.2 3 2 2 0 1 [[In-content Ad]]