ALBANY - For six innings Monday, Cody Schultz played the role of dominant pitcher.
In the seventh inning, Albany's big left-hander did his best goaltender impression.
With a run in and the bases loaded in a one-run baseball game, Schultz took a rocket off the bat of Black Hawk's Logan Stietz on his right forearm. The ball ricocheted off his rib cage and fell to the dirt, but Schultz threw to first just in time to end a 2-1 victory in a Six Rivers East Conference contest.
"I was like, 'Where did it go?'" Schultz said of the baseball. "Then it just dropped and I was like, 'Thank goodness.'"
Schultz and Black Hawk starter Merik Meythaler each fired complete-game three-hitters.
Schultz (2-2) recorded eight strikeouts and allowed four walks - all in the seventh inning. Black Hawk's run came on a bases-loaded walk to Cory Rupnow.
"I think I just lost focus," Schultz said. "I am happy overall, I just wish it didn't turn out the way it did at the end there. It was a little nerve-wracking."
Albany coach Brandon Bakken said it was the senior's best outing of the season.
"I thought he pitched with some composure," Bakken said. "When calls weren't going his way and he thought he was getting squeezed (by the plate umpire's calls), he fought back and did a great job.
"He hit his spots. He's not one of those people you have to worry about throwing it all over the place."
The Comets, 4-2 overall and in the Six Rivers East, opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning when junior Austin Ross hit a two-strike flare to right field for an RBI single. The hit drove home junior Tyler VanDusen, who drew the only walk in the game off Meythaler, went to second on a sacrifice and advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt at second.
Bakken said his No. 9 hitter executed exactly what the Comets worked on a day earlier.
"We've been practicing on that - not striking out and putting the ball in play," Bakken said. "We had a little batting practice (Sunday) and that's all we worked on - two strikes, choking up on the bat and pushing the ball to right field. That's exactly what Austin did."
Albany pushed the lead to 2-0 in the sixth without the benefit of a hit, Mitchell Kauk scoring from second on an infield error. The rally started with two outs.
It turned out to be a pivotal run when Schultz struggled with his control in the seventh.
Black Hawk (2-5, 2-4 Six Rivers East) had runners on second and third with one out in the first inning, but Schultz recorded consecutive strikeouts to end the threat. The Warriors' Mike Walker doubled off the fence in left to open the fourth, but Walker got caught off second base on a bouncer in front of him and was erased in a rundown.
"We had our chances," Black Hawk coach Justin Doyle said. "That's kind of been the story of our season so far. We've had baserunners, we just can't get them in. You can't wait until the end like that."
Meythaler finished with seven strikeouts and issued one walk in his first start.
"He pitched very well," Doyle said of the junior right-hander. "Albany played a good game."
The Comets are alone is second place behind Barneveld in the Six Rivers East. Albany visits the Eagles today to begin a stretch that Bakken said will define his team's season.
"Are we a 4-2 team? At this point in the season we are," Bakken said. "I still think we have a lot of room for improvement. We've got some pretty tough teams coming up on the conference schedule. We'll be clawing as much as we can to stay above that .500 mark."
In the seventh inning, Albany's big left-hander did his best goaltender impression.
With a run in and the bases loaded in a one-run baseball game, Schultz took a rocket off the bat of Black Hawk's Logan Stietz on his right forearm. The ball ricocheted off his rib cage and fell to the dirt, but Schultz threw to first just in time to end a 2-1 victory in a Six Rivers East Conference contest.
"I was like, 'Where did it go?'" Schultz said of the baseball. "Then it just dropped and I was like, 'Thank goodness.'"
Schultz and Black Hawk starter Merik Meythaler each fired complete-game three-hitters.
Schultz (2-2) recorded eight strikeouts and allowed four walks - all in the seventh inning. Black Hawk's run came on a bases-loaded walk to Cory Rupnow.
"I think I just lost focus," Schultz said. "I am happy overall, I just wish it didn't turn out the way it did at the end there. It was a little nerve-wracking."
Albany coach Brandon Bakken said it was the senior's best outing of the season.
"I thought he pitched with some composure," Bakken said. "When calls weren't going his way and he thought he was getting squeezed (by the plate umpire's calls), he fought back and did a great job.
"He hit his spots. He's not one of those people you have to worry about throwing it all over the place."
The Comets, 4-2 overall and in the Six Rivers East, opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning when junior Austin Ross hit a two-strike flare to right field for an RBI single. The hit drove home junior Tyler VanDusen, who drew the only walk in the game off Meythaler, went to second on a sacrifice and advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt at second.
Bakken said his No. 9 hitter executed exactly what the Comets worked on a day earlier.
"We've been practicing on that - not striking out and putting the ball in play," Bakken said. "We had a little batting practice (Sunday) and that's all we worked on - two strikes, choking up on the bat and pushing the ball to right field. That's exactly what Austin did."
Albany pushed the lead to 2-0 in the sixth without the benefit of a hit, Mitchell Kauk scoring from second on an infield error. The rally started with two outs.
It turned out to be a pivotal run when Schultz struggled with his control in the seventh.
Black Hawk (2-5, 2-4 Six Rivers East) had runners on second and third with one out in the first inning, but Schultz recorded consecutive strikeouts to end the threat. The Warriors' Mike Walker doubled off the fence in left to open the fourth, but Walker got caught off second base on a bouncer in front of him and was erased in a rundown.
"We had our chances," Black Hawk coach Justin Doyle said. "That's kind of been the story of our season so far. We've had baserunners, we just can't get them in. You can't wait until the end like that."
Meythaler finished with seven strikeouts and issued one walk in his first start.
"He pitched very well," Doyle said of the junior right-hander. "Albany played a good game."
The Comets are alone is second place behind Barneveld in the Six Rivers East. Albany visits the Eagles today to begin a stretch that Bakken said will define his team's season.
"Are we a 4-2 team? At this point in the season we are," Bakken said. "I still think we have a lot of room for improvement. We've got some pretty tough teams coming up on the conference schedule. We'll be clawing as much as we can to stay above that .500 mark."
