Emporia High was off to a bad start on Opening Day. Through the first five innings on Friday at Soden’s Grove, the Spartans had just one run on three hits against Highland Park.
Before the sixth inning, EHS coach Mike Strickland had a talk with his team. Strickland’s pep talk stressed some hitting adjustments, but mostly, he wanted his team to show more heart.
“We got out there pumped up,” senior Christian Keisler said. “We were a little scared.”
Whatever Strickland said, it worked. The Spartans rallied to score four runs on their way to a 5-4 victory. The momentum from the first game carried over to the second and EHS rolled to a 7-0 win and two-game sweep.
“I was happy they found a way to win,” Strickland said. “The bottom line is we don’t hit the baseball in the first five innings. We’re doing some things with our hands right now. We’re just not very good, and we need to make an adjustment on that, and luckily we battled back and found a way to win that game.”
The Spartans struggled to find ways to win any games last year when they finished 5-16.
“People were getting down on themselves last year,” junior Jacob Loucks said. “We didn’t play much as a team.”
So when the Spartans faced a three-run deficit going into the sixth, it was the perfect early-season test to see if the 2009 team is going to be any different.
Loucks led off, which was a perfect scenario for the Spartans. Loucks had two of the team’s three hits in the first five innings, and he had driven in the team’s only run with a double off the wall.
Loucks doubled again in the sixth to get the rally started. Remington Pinick followed with a walk and Derek Nielsen bunted to load the bases.
After Loucks scored on a Corey Bacon sacrifice fly, Matt Fry pulled the Spartans within one run with an RBI single.
Emporia tied the game when Fry and Nielsen pulled off a double steal. Brian Keisler drove in the winning run when he reached on an error.
“We’re a scrappy team and we can come back from whatever we want to if we set our minds to it and focus,” Loucks said. “All I was really trying to do was get on base and get a rally sparked. That’s what happened.”
Loucks, who is also the Spartans’ top pitcher, came on in the seventh to close the game and retired the Scots in order with two strikeouts and a groundout.
Loucks stayed on the mound to start the second game, and he threw three shutout innings before leaving the game because he was on a pitch count.
Loucks left with a 5-0 lead, thanks to the Spartans carrying their approach over from the sixth inning to the second game.
Emporia scored its first run in the second inning without even registering a hit. Nielsen walked, Bacon was hit by a pitch and Nielsen advanced to third with Brett Lechien at bat. Lechien drove in Nielsen with a groundout.
The Spartans again took advantage of the Scots’ mistakes in the third inning, scoring four runs on only three hits.
“We just seemed to be more focused,” Loucks said. “We wanted to get out and jump on them early, see if we could get them to just deflate and lose their mentality.”
The Scots could not muster a rally against Loucks and Chase Speer, who combined for a four-hit shutout.
Christian Keisler led the way offensively in the finale. The Spartans scored seven runs on only five hits, taking advantage of nine walks and three hit batsmen. Keisler went 2-for-2, had a double, RBI and drew two walks as the designated hitter after sitting out the first game.
“I sat in there and did some stats and I did what he asked me to do,” Keisler said. “I went out there and relaxed and hit.”
After two games, the Spartans are nearly halfway to their win total last season. Keisler said the team’s goals are to finish above .500 and make the State tournament.
It may be too early to tell if those goals are attainable, but in the final nine innings on Friday, the Spartans at least looked like they’re going to be a different team.
“This year we’ve got a little more team leadership,” Loucks said. “Because we have 10 seniors and I think that’s helping us on the field.”
Friday at Soden’s Grove
Game One
Emporia High 5, Highland Park 4
Highland Park 300 100 0 — 4 6 2
Emporia High 010 004 X — 5 6 0
WP — Rivera. LP — Moore. Sv — Loucks.
E — HP: Moore, Thomas. DP — HP 1. LOB — HP 4, EHS 8. 2B — HP: Moore; EHS: Loucks 2. HBP — HP: Moore; EHS: Lechien. SB — HP: Moore; EHS: B. Keisler, Krause, Pinick, Nielsen, Fry.
Game Two
Emporia High 7, Highland Park 0
Highland Park 000 000 0 — 0 4 3
Emporia High 014 101 X — 7 5 0
WP — Loucks. LP — Copeland.
E — HP: Moore 3. DP — HP 2. LOB — HP 7, EHS 8. 2B — HP: Campfield; EHS: C. Keisler. HBP — HP: Thomas; EHS: Nielsen, Bacon, Lechien. SB — HP: Thomas, Campfield, Downing 2; EHS: B. Keisler 2, C. Keisler.
leaveit2beav (anonymous) says...
If the Senior leadership is helping the team, why aren't more of them playing?
April 24, 2009 at 9:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )