BLANCHARDVILLE - Allowing Pecatonica junior Lee Vlasak to throw without a pitch count was just what the doctor ordered for the Vikings.
Vlasak, who has battled arm problems this season, pitched his second complete game, a three-hitter, to lead Pecatonica to a 6-1 WIAA Division 4 regional baseball semifinal win Tuesday over Six Rivers East rival Black Hawk in Blanchardville. Vlasak struck out 11, walked two and hit one.
Pecatonica coach Jim Strommen said Vlasak had been on a limited pitch count.
"He had clearance to go a full game," Strommen said. "It was nice to have our ace on the mound against their ace."
Black Hawk coach Todd Strang didn't need any convincing that Vlasak was anything but his dominating self.
"Hands down, he is one of the best pitchers in the conference," Strang said.
Vlasak said he was prepared to pitch against the Warriors because he knew which pitches hitters liked and didn't like.
"I knew I couldn't just throw straight fastballs," Vlasak said. "I knew I had to pitch breaking-ball pitches to keep them off-balance and hope they didn't hit the curveball."
Pecatonica (12-6) batted around the order, coming back from a 1-0 deficit with a six-run fifth inning. The Warriors committed two errors to open and set the table for the big inning. The Vikings scored four of their six runs with two outs. The big hit came when senior Jordan Krebs crushed a go-ahead, two-run triple to right to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.
"He (Krebs) has been clutch for us," Strommen said. "He drove the ball the other way into the wind."
Krebs knows the Vikings made their own luck.
"We just put the ball in play," Krebs said. "We made them make plays and they made a couple of errors."
Pecatonica sophomore Devin Jeglum then delivered a two-out RBI-single. Two batters later, senior Andy Dieterich hit a clutch two-out, two-run single. A third run scored on the play when a relay throw sailed over Warriors catcher Taylor Goodman. That gave the Vikings a commanding 6-1 lead.
"The difference was not making plays," Strang said. "He (Abraham) threw 28 extra pitches in that inning. That's two extra innings of work because of the errors we had."
Black Hawk (12-8) scored its lone run in the fifth. Cody Foster walked and later scored on a dropped third strike.
"They came up with the big hit with two outs," Strang said. "We just needed to have that big two-out hit we were missing today."
Early on, the game had the makings of a pitcher's duel. In the third, Alex Abraham pitched out of a two-on, one-out jam. He struck out Krebs and got Bryan Daley to ground out.
Abraham worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the fourth as he induced Dieterich to ground into a double play.
"He has developed into a heck of a high school pitcher," Strang said. "He's just a competitor."
Krebs, who was 2-for-4, is looking forward to a regional championship game against Barneveld today.
"If we play our best and they play their best, I think we can win," Krebs said.
Vlasak, who has battled arm problems this season, pitched his second complete game, a three-hitter, to lead Pecatonica to a 6-1 WIAA Division 4 regional baseball semifinal win Tuesday over Six Rivers East rival Black Hawk in Blanchardville. Vlasak struck out 11, walked two and hit one.
Pecatonica coach Jim Strommen said Vlasak had been on a limited pitch count.
"He had clearance to go a full game," Strommen said. "It was nice to have our ace on the mound against their ace."
Black Hawk coach Todd Strang didn't need any convincing that Vlasak was anything but his dominating self.
"Hands down, he is one of the best pitchers in the conference," Strang said.
Vlasak said he was prepared to pitch against the Warriors because he knew which pitches hitters liked and didn't like.
"I knew I couldn't just throw straight fastballs," Vlasak said. "I knew I had to pitch breaking-ball pitches to keep them off-balance and hope they didn't hit the curveball."
Pecatonica (12-6) batted around the order, coming back from a 1-0 deficit with a six-run fifth inning. The Warriors committed two errors to open and set the table for the big inning. The Vikings scored four of their six runs with two outs. The big hit came when senior Jordan Krebs crushed a go-ahead, two-run triple to right to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.
"He (Krebs) has been clutch for us," Strommen said. "He drove the ball the other way into the wind."
Krebs knows the Vikings made their own luck.
"We just put the ball in play," Krebs said. "We made them make plays and they made a couple of errors."
Pecatonica sophomore Devin Jeglum then delivered a two-out RBI-single. Two batters later, senior Andy Dieterich hit a clutch two-out, two-run single. A third run scored on the play when a relay throw sailed over Warriors catcher Taylor Goodman. That gave the Vikings a commanding 6-1 lead.
"The difference was not making plays," Strang said. "He (Abraham) threw 28 extra pitches in that inning. That's two extra innings of work because of the errors we had."
Black Hawk (12-8) scored its lone run in the fifth. Cody Foster walked and later scored on a dropped third strike.
"They came up with the big hit with two outs," Strang said. "We just needed to have that big two-out hit we were missing today."
Early on, the game had the makings of a pitcher's duel. In the third, Alex Abraham pitched out of a two-on, one-out jam. He struck out Krebs and got Bryan Daley to ground out.
Abraham worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the fourth as he induced Dieterich to ground into a double play.
"He has developed into a heck of a high school pitcher," Strang said. "He's just a competitor."
Krebs, who was 2-for-4, is looking forward to a regional championship game against Barneveld today.
"If we play our best and they play their best, I think we can win," Krebs said.
