DARLINGTON - A dead-locked scoreless game between Darlington and Belleville changed in a heartbeat when Darlington's Aric Geissbuhler hit a fifth inning grand slam to give the Redbirds a lead they would not relinquish in a 5-2 playoff opening win.
"It was a nice pitch, right down the middle. He hit it out to right field. It was a great hit," said Darlington coach Matt Austin. "It definitely boosted our confidence. throguh those five innings it was a close game. Belleville's had kind of a down year, but they battled. They played their best game of the year. It gave us confidence to finish the game off."
Jason Singer started on the mound for Darlington and threw all seven innings. Singer gave up two unearned runs in the sixth inning, but otherwise held the Belleville offense scoreless.
"He threw strikes," Austin said. "Did a very good job tonight. He kept it low. He's our ace as a sophomore. That's what he's expected to do."
Despite the five-run fifth, the Redbirds had just four total hits off Belleville pitcher Taylor Foman.
"We struggled early on hitting the ball," Austin said. "Their pitcher did a good job of locating. We had that one inning where we got hot. We didn't have many strikeouts, but we were hitting it at people. We made it count."
Fourth-seeded Darlington (8-10) will take on Parkview, the top seed, on Tuesday.
"They've lost five games. All of their losses are to Division 2 schools. They are one of the better teams in Division 3. We have our work cut out for us. We'll have to play our best ball."
In other action, sixth-seeded Brodhead-Juda fell to third-seeded Big Foot 3-2 in a Division 2 matchup.
In Division 3 play, sixth-seeded New Glarus lost to sixth-seeded Mineral Point, 12-2. The Pointers limited the Glarner Knights to just one hit. New Glarus' Kyle Larson pitched 3 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on six hits. Senior T.J. Duerst gave up three runs and junior Ashton Jelle gave up four runs on two hits in one inning.
"It was a nice pitch, right down the middle. He hit it out to right field. It was a great hit," said Darlington coach Matt Austin. "It definitely boosted our confidence. throguh those five innings it was a close game. Belleville's had kind of a down year, but they battled. They played their best game of the year. It gave us confidence to finish the game off."
Jason Singer started on the mound for Darlington and threw all seven innings. Singer gave up two unearned runs in the sixth inning, but otherwise held the Belleville offense scoreless.
"He threw strikes," Austin said. "Did a very good job tonight. He kept it low. He's our ace as a sophomore. That's what he's expected to do."
Despite the five-run fifth, the Redbirds had just four total hits off Belleville pitcher Taylor Foman.
"We struggled early on hitting the ball," Austin said. "Their pitcher did a good job of locating. We had that one inning where we got hot. We didn't have many strikeouts, but we were hitting it at people. We made it count."
Fourth-seeded Darlington (8-10) will take on Parkview, the top seed, on Tuesday.
"They've lost five games. All of their losses are to Division 2 schools. They are one of the better teams in Division 3. We have our work cut out for us. We'll have to play our best ball."
In other action, sixth-seeded Brodhead-Juda fell to third-seeded Big Foot 3-2 in a Division 2 matchup.
In Division 3 play, sixth-seeded New Glarus lost to sixth-seeded Mineral Point, 12-2. The Pointers limited the Glarner Knights to just one hit. New Glarus' Kyle Larson pitched 3 1/3 innings and gave up four runs on six hits. Senior T.J. Duerst gave up three runs and junior Ashton Jelle gave up four runs on two hits in one inning.
