PATTON — It took two days on two different fields, but the St. Vincent Indians found a way to win, topping fourth-seeded Meadow Heights 6-4 in the first round of the Class 2, District 3 tournament on May 16.
The Indians, coming off a five-game skid at the end of the regular season, entered district play with a 6-13 record and a No. 5 seed.
On May 15, they opened their first-round game at Hillhouse Park in Charleston, building a 5-run lead before weather forced a rain delay that eventually led to a suspended game.
“Any time you get to district tournaments — and I’ve hosted several — it’s very hard when there’s weather,” said St. Vincent coach Corey Sauer. “And their field at Charleston held water great. It just kept raining. We were lightning delayed for probably an hour’s worth of time, and then the other hour was just kind of waiting on what the rain was going to do. Even when they called it, the field was still in okay shape. The rain just kept coming.” With two innings — and the rest of the district playoffs remaining — remaining, Sauer and Meadow Heights coach Cody Kennedy decided it was time to make a plan.
“With severe weather coming in, we had to make a decision,” Sauer said. “I kind of told him at 9 o’clock on Thursday night, ‘Guys, we’re 15 miles apart. Why don’t we just go? Meadow Heights was the home team. They’re the higher seed. Why don’t we just go down there and try to finish it up? We have some conflicts on our end with some senior awards and stuff, so why don’t just go there and play it?’ “Not that I wanted to give Meadow Heights home field advantage, but at the same time, why drive to Charleston and get on a bus and try to come back in severe weather? So we had to split the site and split the days.”
Trailing 6-1 before the suspension and back on their home field, the Panthers (11-9) scored 3 runs in the bottom of the sixth on a base-loaded walk and a 2-run single to make the score 6-4 Friday and set the stage for St. Vincent reliever Jake Seabaugh to earn the save.
St. Vincent lost to Meadow Heights twice in the regular season, falling 7-6 in tournament play at Oak Ridge on April 11, and 2-1 at Meadow Heights on May 6.
“We lost to them by a combined two runs in both games,” Sauer said. “One was the time limit, six-inning game in the Oak Ridge tournament, and the other one, it took them eight innings. They’re a good team, a very good ball club. They deserve better than a four seed. It just fell into place where we’re a better team than our record, so we just had to beat each other up in the first round. It’s unfortunate that one side had to lose, but I’m glad we’re the ones that came out on top, obviously.”
Meadow Heights took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second thanks to a wild pitch. That lead only lasted a short time, as Cain Clifton hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth, allowing Nick Buchheit to score and tie the game at 1-1.
On May 9, in the top of the fifth, the Indians took a solid lead, scoring 5 runs on 3 hits, including Jake Seabaugh’s 2-run single to center field that sent Gavin Hotop and Buchheit across. Seabaugh scored next on Clifton’s single, then Clifton scored off another single from Carson House to make it 6-1.
“Our guys wanted it,” Sauer said. “We came alive. Been waiting for it all year and everything kind of clicked.”
Andrew Schumer earned the win on the mound for St. Vincent. The junior gave up 3 runs on 3 hits over 2 1/3 innings of relief, striking out 3 and walking 4.
Senior starter Nick Buchheit saw 3 innings of work, giving up 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 3 and walking none.
Reliever Andrew Schumer gave up 3 runs on 3 hits, striking out 3 and walking 4 in 2 1/3 innings. Cain Clifton pitched 1/3 of an inning, allowing 1 hit while striking out 1 and walking 1.
Seabaugh pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless, hitless relief to earn the save, striking out 2 batters along the way.
“The pitching was great,” Sauer said. “[Schumer] started the bottom of the fourth for us Friday. He came out firing strikes for the most part and did his job. [Clifton] came in after him in a tough spot for a freshman to enter a ballgame, in a do-ordie situation, but he did fine, he gave up a double, a couple runs, and then we came back in with [Seabaugh] to shut it down. He was lights out.”
Reliever Case Seabaugh took the loss for Meadow Heights. The senior righthander went 2/3 of an inning, giving up 3 runs on no hits while striking out 1 and walking 3. Starter Isaiah Long gave up 1 run on 3 hits over 4 innings, striking out 4 and walking 2.
At the plate, St. Vincent finished with 9 hits in the game. Clifton, batting seventh in the order, finished with 1 hit, a double, but drove in 3 runs and scored another.
Tyler Hennemann was 2-for-3 with 1 run scored and Buchheit was 2-for-2 with 2 runs scored. Jake Seabaugh was 1-for-4 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored. Meadow Heights shortstop Braeden Hays was 3-for-3 with 2 RBI, and Riley Smith was 2-for-4 with 1 run scored.
St. Vincent was scheduled to take on top-seeded Chaffee (19-3) in Monday’s second round.
“They’re a very familiar face,” Sauer said. “They’ve had our number the past couple years. We’ve played them pretty tight in district contest over the years. I’m confident that if we show up and play our game, it’s going to be close.
“If we play a clean game, pitch well, and play like we did against Meadow Heights, we’re going to have a good shot at it.”
