Thu Sep 02 2010
By BRUCE HEFFLINGER
ATHENS -- Missed opportunities proved costly for the Napoleon River Bandits at the American Legion State Tournament Monday evening at Rannow Field in Athens.
The local squad left 11 runners on base, including seven in scoring position, during a 4-2 loss to defending state champion Sandusky. The defeat dropped the Bandits into the losers' bracket of the double elimination tourney to face Cincinnati Mount Carmel today at 2 p.m. at Dalton Field.
"I was disappointed in our competitiveness," said Napoleon coach Shane Coleman. "That's one thing we've prided ourselves in. Tonight we had some guys pouting and we lacked hustle. Those are things we're not accustomed to."
Cody Meyer (Patrick Henry) led off the game with a walk, stole second with one out and scored on a single by Anthony Kidston to put the Bandits in front 1-0. Another walk and a groundout put runners on second and third but a strikeout ended the threat.
"If we were able to get those two in you never know," pointed out Coleman. "After that he was on fire."
Coleman was referring to Sandusky starting pitcher Ryan Krumlauf, a recent graduate of Sandusky Perkins. The right-hander fanned a dozen in 72/3 innings, including one to get out of a two-on and two-out jam in the fourth. His final strikeout on Monday came with runners on second and third with one out in the eighth after Mark Sebring (Defiance) ripped a double to ignite a Napoleon rally.
"They had quality pitching and (Krumlauf) did a great job," Coleman admitted. "They had 14 strikeouts but six of them we go down looking. We just were not aggressive."
Still, the Bandits were on top 1-0 behind outstanding pitching from Lucas Willitzer (Tinora), who had a no-hitter going until there were two outs in the bottom of the fourth. But after a walk to Xavier Turner, Cody Koch belted a 0-2 change-up over the left-field fence to give Sandusky a 2-1 advantage.
"We're a team that has very good pitching and on most days good defense," explained Sandusky coach Ray Neill, the head coach of Perkins in the spring. "The one thing we've missed all year is a guy that hits a two-run or three-run homer to get us in the lead or expand the lead.. That's the difference this year from last year."
Sandusky went up 3-1 when Mike Drake walked with one out in the fifth, stole second, went to third on a grounder and scored when Joe Consolo reached on a slow-rolling single down third-base line.
A walk, followed by a sacrifice bunt that was thrown into right field put Sandusky runners in scoring position against reliever Stephen Leskow (Defiance) in the seventh and a groundout to short gave last year's state winners a big insurance run.
Napoleon, which failed to score in the seventh and eighth despite putting the first two batters on base in each inning, did not go down quietly in the ninth. Kyle Niermann (Napoleon) opened the frame with a single, his third of the game, and moved up on one-out walks to Meyer and Quinn Nofziger. A Kidston sacrifice fly off Spencer Bryant, Sandusky's third pitcher of the inning, brought home Niermann and Meyer moved to third.
But an attempt to put the tying run in scoring position failed when Nofziger was thrown out stealing to end the game, advancing Sandusky, which pounded Beverly-Lowell 11-0 in seven innings earlier on Monday, into the winners' bracket semifinal against St. Louisville today at 2 p.m. at Ohio University.
"We gave ourselves chances tonight we just didn't convert," Coleman said. "It was great getting the bye but if you don't get the win it's all for naught. But we have some of the deepest pitching in the tournament ... the bottom line is we have to get back to the competitive level we had all summer and come to play."
John Kesler (Edon) is expected to start for Napoleon (43-12) today against Mount Carmel (23-16), which lost to Portsmouth 12-4 on Monday morning. A victory advances Napoleon to a Wednesday 9:30 a.m. losers' bracket game.
Linescore
Napoleon 100 000 001 - 2 7 2
Sandusky 000 210 10x - 4 3 0
Records: Sandusky 26-12, Napoleon 43-12.
Winning pitcher: Ryan Krumlauf (72/3 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 12 strikeouts, 4 walks). Others: Matt Hamons, Scott Hacker, Spencer Bryant.
Losing pitcher: Lucas Willitzer (6 innings, 3 runs, 2 hits, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks, 1 HBP). Other: Stephen Leskow.
Leading hitters: (Napoleon, 7 hits) - Mark Sebring double; Kyle Niermann 3 singles. (Sandusky, 3 hits) - Andrew Enderle double; Cody Koch home run.
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