MONROE - With the game-tying run on third base in the seventh inning, Monroe junior Hogan Edwards beared down and worked out of a jam, making some of the most critical pitches of the season in a WIAA Division 2 regional quarterfinal game against Clinton on Thursday.
After Clinton's Robert Billington crushed an RBI double to left to cut Monroe's lead to one run, Edwards delivered in crunch time. He got a groundout and struck out two straight batters to preserve the Cheesemakers' 4-3 win over Clinton. Edwards picked up the save by striking out Clinton's Mitch Vanderkooi after getting ahead with a breaking ball.
"It seemed like that kid had been hitting the ball hard throughout the game," Edwards said. "They were definitely my biggest pitches of the season. I was just told to go right at him. I just wanted to get a ground ball because I knew my teammates were going to make the plays. If they would have scored a run, I knew we could have come back and scored a run in the seventh. I knew we could do it."
The Cheesemakers didn't need their last at-bats in part due to Edwards. It was a pitchers' duel most of the game. Clinton's Anthony Leedle tossed a complete game and limited the Cheesemakers to just three hits, while striking out 11 and walking four. Three of the four runs the Cheesemakers scored were unearned.
"He (Leedle) was lights out," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "We knew coming in runs would be tough to come by. When playoff baseball starts it's usually about manufacturing runs and we were able to do that. He has a real fluid motion and the ball just snaps out of his hands. When he gets that curveball and slider over the plate he was tough to hit."
Monroe (13-12) advances to play at Evansville in a regional semifinal Tuesday.
Clinton jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Evan Ruplinger's RBI groundout off Monroe junior starting pitcher Hunter Weckerly in the second inning.
Weckerly pitched five innings and gave up one run on three hits to get the win. He struck out four and walked three. Two of Weckerly's walks came in the first.
"After that first inning, Hunter settled down and really had that look in his eyes," Huffman said. "He was very focused after that first inning."
Monroe senior Jaron Kuester led off the second with a double to left. Edwards laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Kuester to third base. Senior Brent Edmunds knocked in the game-tying run on a groundout.
Leedle ran into some control problems in the fifth, and the Cheesemakers capitalized. He walked both Weckerly and junior Isaac Allen to start the inning. Sophomore teammate Hunter Ward then laid down a sacrifice bunt. Junior Carter Sawdey reached on an error that allowed courtesy runner Trevor Singer to score the go-ahead run to give the Cheesemakers a 2-1 lead.
"The key to that inning was Hunter Ward coming up with that sacrifice bunt," Huffman said. "Hunter put us in a position to win when he got that bunt down. It was a huge small ball play. We knew with Carter Sawdey coming up he had the ability if he put the ball in play to get an infield single."
After Clinton scored the game-tying run on a bunt in the sixth, the Cheesemakers answered. In the bottom of the sixth, Monroe pushed across two runs.
Kuester was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth. Edwards singled to right, and the Cougars intentionally walked Edmunds. Kuester scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball to give the Cheesemakers a 3-2 lead. Weckerly then knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly that would prove to be the game-winning run but at the time gave the Cheesemakers a 4-2 lead.
That set the stages for a dramatic seventh. Edwards came through in nail-biting fashion. Allen at catcher also blocked several balls in the dirt that saved the Cheesemakers bases and runs.
"Isaac Allen was working really hard in the end to help me out," Edwards said.
Huffman commended Allen for his ability to block tough pitches and eliminate possible wild pitches or passed balls that could make the difference in a one-run game.
"He saved some runs for us in big situations," Huffman said of Allen. "He had a tremendous effort behind the plate."
Now the Cheesemakers will gear up for a rematch with Evansville. The Blue Devils defeated the Cheesemakers 3-2 April 22.
"I feel like the last time we played them (Evansville) we didn't play our best," Edwards said. "We had some errors that contributed to that loss. I feel like we can go there and get them."
After Clinton's Robert Billington crushed an RBI double to left to cut Monroe's lead to one run, Edwards delivered in crunch time. He got a groundout and struck out two straight batters to preserve the Cheesemakers' 4-3 win over Clinton. Edwards picked up the save by striking out Clinton's Mitch Vanderkooi after getting ahead with a breaking ball.
"It seemed like that kid had been hitting the ball hard throughout the game," Edwards said. "They were definitely my biggest pitches of the season. I was just told to go right at him. I just wanted to get a ground ball because I knew my teammates were going to make the plays. If they would have scored a run, I knew we could have come back and scored a run in the seventh. I knew we could do it."
The Cheesemakers didn't need their last at-bats in part due to Edwards. It was a pitchers' duel most of the game. Clinton's Anthony Leedle tossed a complete game and limited the Cheesemakers to just three hits, while striking out 11 and walking four. Three of the four runs the Cheesemakers scored were unearned.
"He (Leedle) was lights out," Monroe coach Dustin Huffman said. "We knew coming in runs would be tough to come by. When playoff baseball starts it's usually about manufacturing runs and we were able to do that. He has a real fluid motion and the ball just snaps out of his hands. When he gets that curveball and slider over the plate he was tough to hit."
Monroe (13-12) advances to play at Evansville in a regional semifinal Tuesday.
Clinton jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Evan Ruplinger's RBI groundout off Monroe junior starting pitcher Hunter Weckerly in the second inning.
Weckerly pitched five innings and gave up one run on three hits to get the win. He struck out four and walked three. Two of Weckerly's walks came in the first.
"After that first inning, Hunter settled down and really had that look in his eyes," Huffman said. "He was very focused after that first inning."
Monroe senior Jaron Kuester led off the second with a double to left. Edwards laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Kuester to third base. Senior Brent Edmunds knocked in the game-tying run on a groundout.
Leedle ran into some control problems in the fifth, and the Cheesemakers capitalized. He walked both Weckerly and junior Isaac Allen to start the inning. Sophomore teammate Hunter Ward then laid down a sacrifice bunt. Junior Carter Sawdey reached on an error that allowed courtesy runner Trevor Singer to score the go-ahead run to give the Cheesemakers a 2-1 lead.
"The key to that inning was Hunter Ward coming up with that sacrifice bunt," Huffman said. "Hunter put us in a position to win when he got that bunt down. It was a huge small ball play. We knew with Carter Sawdey coming up he had the ability if he put the ball in play to get an infield single."
After Clinton scored the game-tying run on a bunt in the sixth, the Cheesemakers answered. In the bottom of the sixth, Monroe pushed across two runs.
Kuester was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth. Edwards singled to right, and the Cougars intentionally walked Edmunds. Kuester scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball to give the Cheesemakers a 3-2 lead. Weckerly then knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly that would prove to be the game-winning run but at the time gave the Cheesemakers a 4-2 lead.
That set the stages for a dramatic seventh. Edwards came through in nail-biting fashion. Allen at catcher also blocked several balls in the dirt that saved the Cheesemakers bases and runs.
"Isaac Allen was working really hard in the end to help me out," Edwards said.
Huffman commended Allen for his ability to block tough pitches and eliminate possible wild pitches or passed balls that could make the difference in a one-run game.
"He saved some runs for us in big situations," Huffman said of Allen. "He had a tremendous effort behind the plate."
Now the Cheesemakers will gear up for a rematch with Evansville. The Blue Devils defeated the Cheesemakers 3-2 April 22.
"I feel like the last time we played them (Evansville) we didn't play our best," Edwards said. "We had some errors that contributed to that loss. I feel like we can go there and get them."
