ORFORDVILLE - Darlington had a tough time in the field and at the plate Tuesday night, as the Redbirds fell to Parkview, 6-0.
Darlington had just three hits off Parkview pitcher Trevor Aasen. Jason Singer and Andrew Kelly both had doubles, while Griffin Heinberg had a single. Aasen pitched all seven innings and struck out nine.
"(Aasen) worked the corners well," said Darlington coach Matt Austin. "We weren't as aggressive at the plate as we usually are. We watched strikes early. We got in a hole and we couldn't dig out of it. I don't know if it was because we were young or nervous or what it was."
Not helping matters for the Redbirds was four errors in the field. Only two of starter Cole McDonald's six runs allowed were earned.
"The field was a little wetter than I would have liked it to have been," said Austin. "The was ball rolling a little awkwardly."
Darlington finished the season with an 8-11 record. This was Austin's second year at the helm of the Redbirds and he said he liked some of the improvement he saw from his team.
"From year one to year two, the focus has been a lot better this year. Baseball hasn't been a big priority for our school, but we have kids putting time in and working hard," he said. "Last year we had a young team. This year we still had a fairly young team. If we played like we could and limited it to one or two errors we were a tough team to beat."
Austin said there are still some areas his team needs to improve in to take the next step.
"We have young pitchers, most of them are sophomores. They have to step up their games. Work on their curves and fastball speed," said Austin. "We have our catcher transitioning into a shortstop/pitcher, so we're looking for a catcher, whether a JV kid or an incoming freshman. We also have to fill one infield spot and one outfield spot."
Benton-Shullsburg 8, Pecatonica 0
BENTON - Pecatonica couldn't get their bats going against Benton-Shullsburg Tuesday night and the Vikings were eliminated from postseason play in an 8-0 loss.
Benton-Shullsburg got off to a quick start, scoring two in the first and five in the second. They added their eighth run in the fourth inning. Pecatonica mustered just one hit, a Brooks Chandler sixth inning single.
Lucas McKeon started on the bump for the Vikings and threw 1 and one-third innings. McKeon gave up three runs on four hits and two walks. He was relieved by Drew Schliem, who pitched four and two-thirds innings. Schliem gave up five runs on six hits and two walks. He also struck out five.
Matt Cook pitched the first six innings for Benton-Shullsburg and gave up just one hit. He was relieved by Connor Crotty, who threw a hitless seventh.
"The difference was they hit the fastball and we couldn't," said Pecatonica coach Jim Strommen.
Pec wrapped up the season with a 10-12 record. Strommen said his team was just never able to play consistent baseball.
"10-12 kinda sums it up," he said. "We had some good and some not so good, up and down. We had some injuries and some ineligibilities that really hurt us at times. We never got any consistency going. In baseball, you need to play with some consistency."
The Vikings graduate just two seniors from this year's team. Strommen said the biggest thing his returning players will need to work on is the mental side of the game.
"We need to get mentally tougher," he said. "That's the big thing. We have the skill, but mentally we really struggled at the game at times. They need to be willing to change a few things and improve on a few things. It's not gonna happen over night. Keep an open mind and work at your weaknesses."
Black Hawk Athletic Director Jerry Mortimer said Black hawk will play against Albany in a Division 4 regional semifinal today if they can find a field to play on.
Darlington had just three hits off Parkview pitcher Trevor Aasen. Jason Singer and Andrew Kelly both had doubles, while Griffin Heinberg had a single. Aasen pitched all seven innings and struck out nine.
"(Aasen) worked the corners well," said Darlington coach Matt Austin. "We weren't as aggressive at the plate as we usually are. We watched strikes early. We got in a hole and we couldn't dig out of it. I don't know if it was because we were young or nervous or what it was."
Not helping matters for the Redbirds was four errors in the field. Only two of starter Cole McDonald's six runs allowed were earned.
"The field was a little wetter than I would have liked it to have been," said Austin. "The was ball rolling a little awkwardly."
Darlington finished the season with an 8-11 record. This was Austin's second year at the helm of the Redbirds and he said he liked some of the improvement he saw from his team.
"From year one to year two, the focus has been a lot better this year. Baseball hasn't been a big priority for our school, but we have kids putting time in and working hard," he said. "Last year we had a young team. This year we still had a fairly young team. If we played like we could and limited it to one or two errors we were a tough team to beat."
Austin said there are still some areas his team needs to improve in to take the next step.
"We have young pitchers, most of them are sophomores. They have to step up their games. Work on their curves and fastball speed," said Austin. "We have our catcher transitioning into a shortstop/pitcher, so we're looking for a catcher, whether a JV kid or an incoming freshman. We also have to fill one infield spot and one outfield spot."
Benton-Shullsburg 8, Pecatonica 0
BENTON - Pecatonica couldn't get their bats going against Benton-Shullsburg Tuesday night and the Vikings were eliminated from postseason play in an 8-0 loss.
Benton-Shullsburg got off to a quick start, scoring two in the first and five in the second. They added their eighth run in the fourth inning. Pecatonica mustered just one hit, a Brooks Chandler sixth inning single.
Lucas McKeon started on the bump for the Vikings and threw 1 and one-third innings. McKeon gave up three runs on four hits and two walks. He was relieved by Drew Schliem, who pitched four and two-thirds innings. Schliem gave up five runs on six hits and two walks. He also struck out five.
Matt Cook pitched the first six innings for Benton-Shullsburg and gave up just one hit. He was relieved by Connor Crotty, who threw a hitless seventh.
"The difference was they hit the fastball and we couldn't," said Pecatonica coach Jim Strommen.
Pec wrapped up the season with a 10-12 record. Strommen said his team was just never able to play consistent baseball.
"10-12 kinda sums it up," he said. "We had some good and some not so good, up and down. We had some injuries and some ineligibilities that really hurt us at times. We never got any consistency going. In baseball, you need to play with some consistency."
The Vikings graduate just two seniors from this year's team. Strommen said the biggest thing his returning players will need to work on is the mental side of the game.
"We need to get mentally tougher," he said. "That's the big thing. We have the skill, but mentally we really struggled at the game at times. They need to be willing to change a few things and improve on a few things. It's not gonna happen over night. Keep an open mind and work at your weaknesses."
Black Hawk Athletic Director Jerry Mortimer said Black hawk will play against Albany in a Division 4 regional semifinal today if they can find a field to play on.
