With just six innings of previous time on the mound for the season, senior James Niemeyer came on in the fifth inning to flip the scrip and secure Minster’s Division VII regional semi-final win Wednesday over New Riegel. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Julie Wright and Sonny Fulks)
Senior James Niemeyer gave Minster just what they needed when they needed it…strikes and outs…to right the ship and send the Wildcats to Thursday’s Division VII Regional Final.
Bowling Green, OH – Minster coach Mike Wiss is a man of principle and priorities. It doesn’t matter, win or lose, Wiss is always the class act to pay tribute as a matter of respect for an opponent or a host. It doesn’t matter.
So before he would talk about Wednesday’s 9-8 regional final win over New Riegal, he insisted on complimenting the host administers of Bowling Green’s Carter Park baseball complex.
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“You know, I’m old school about baseball,” said Wiss, the stress of surviving a seventh-inning scare still apparent in his voice. “But everything here…the field, the public address, the music, the crowd…this was first class and I appreciate the commitment to high school baseball.”
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And then, with the pleasantries out of the way, he set about answering questions about a regional semi-final win at Carter Park that will not go down as one of his, or Minster’s, prettier moments during his thirty one years as coach.
Unstable starting pitching, eleven walks, a pair of hit batsmen, a balk that scored a run, numerous opportunities to score squandered for lack of a two-out hit, and a comfortable lead lost in the seventh inning had him scrambling to find a Pepto-Bismol lounge on the way home. But, Wiss refused to sell short the fact…that a regional win is a regional win, no matter how it comes.
“You saw both teams give each other a bunch of opportunities,” he began, trying to put a good face on a stressful, call it ugly, final eight state tournament win, unbecoming to a Wiss-coached program that prides itself on the fine points of winning baseball.
Minster’s James Niemeyer tags the closest of two New Riegel runners on third base in the second inning of Wednesday’s win in the regional semi-finals at Bowling Green.
“They gave us a bunch, we gave them a bunch, and thank goodness for a few hard-hit balls. But you know, every now and then baseball comes up and gets you and makes it tough to throw a strike.”
And the failure to throw strikes plagued the Wildcats (23-6) throughout the day, eleven walks served up by starter Caleb Couse, and relievers Andrew Ketman and James Niemeyer, setting a dangerously inviting table for a New Riegel team, who like Minster, failed to make maximum advantage of some gift-wrapped offensive opportunities.
Minster used a triple by Lou Magoto and a pair of doubles to score single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings..while leaving the bases loaded in the second inning with no outs when they couldn’t make contact for more than 150 feet from home plate, squandering a golden opportunity to break the game open early.
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But staked to an early 1-0, and 2-1 lead, lefthander Caleb Couse could not withstand that prosperity, walking the bases loaded in the second inning before giving up a tying run on a wild pitch.
Leading 2-1 in the third, Wiss went to the bullpen for Andrew Ketner, who like Couse, struggled to throw strikes, balked in the tying run from third, and in the fourth walked three around a pair of Minster errors to allow 3 runs and open the door to a 5-3 New Riegel lead.
Minster’s Ian Homan claims an extra base during Wednesday’s 9-8 win over New Riegel in the regional semi-final.
Frustrating for the fact…that on the day New Riegel would reach Minster pitching for just 5 hits, total. But 12 free bases on 11 walks and a hit batsman kept the Blue Jackets from Seneca County in the game, and in threatening position in six of the seven innings. Only once, in the fifth, did Minster pitching retire the side in order.
And that was owing to the unexpected appearance of James Niemeyer, who came to Wiss between innings and said, “I want the ball.”
“He’s a guy who’s thrown six innings all year (due to injury),” said Wiss. “And he came over to me and said, ‘Coach Wiss, I want the ball’. And if you can get a high school senior who’s been a three-year starter that wants it like that, we gave him the ball.”
Niemeyer, throwing as hard, or harder, than he had all year, struck the side in the bottom of the fifth, and as he crossed the foul line for the dugout the lift in optimism among his teammates was noticeable, palpable.
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“I told him I wanted the ball,” said Niemeyer afteward. “And when I got to the dugout [after the three strikeouts] we all rallied together and said let’s hit. Let’s make them make some plays.”
The momentum flipped as if someone had tripped a switch, James Niemeyer in this case. Connor Schmiesing led off the sixth with a walk off New Riegel starter Shane Jones, Dylan Heitkamp followed with another walk, a ground ball out scored Schmiesing, and an RBI single by Magoto scored Heitkamp, and suddenly Minster had tied the game 5-5.
Drew Wiss reaches for a ground ball out in Wednesday’s Division VII semi-final game with New Riegel.
Niemeyer again retired the side in the bottom of the sixth, despite allowing a walk and a hit batsman. And when the ‘Cats came to the plate in the top of the seventh it was their turn to take advantage of New Riegel’s wildness on the mound, and that ultimately.
Reliever David Pugh would walk three and hit one, sandwiched around a clutch double by Schmiesing, to break the game open, scoring four times to open up a 9-5 lead against what appeared to be a dispirited New Riegel lineup.
But Niemeyer, making his first appearance since six innings early in the year, began to tire when he came out for the bottom of the seventh.
After striking out the leadoff hitter, a throwing error on a ground ball to third base allowed a runner. Niemeyer walked the #8 hitter in the order. He struck out the #9 hitter. He walked the leadoff hitter, Shane Jones, and centerfielder Blake Moes singled to center to drive in a pair of runs – 9-7. That marked the end for Niemeyer, and the emergence of Thursday’s presumed starter, Lou Magoto, who came on from second base to retire the final out.
Magoto promptly gave up a bad-hop single over first base to drive in Moes to close the deficit to 9-8…and then overwhelmed Carter Clouse, striking him out to nail down the 9-8 win.
Final out…Minster advanced to Thursday’s regional final game with Montpelier.
Minster won it with 9 runs on 11 hits and committed two errors and left ten men on base.
New Riegel had 8 runs on 5 hits, committed two errors and left eight on base.
But despite the stress of it all, importantly, Minster moves on to Thursday’s regional final with Montpelier.
Through the walks, the runners left on base, and the unsettled starting pitching, Minster’s veterans – Magoto (3 hits), Ian Homan (3 hits), Connor Schmiesing (two hits), and James Niemeyer’s (2.2 innings of 1 hit, 3-run, 6 strikeouts) relief work, were the difference in the game. And none more than the work of Niemeyer, who asked for the ball and threw strikes when nothing else would do.
“It was very frustrating early because we just kept hurting ourselves. It was nice to finally get those runs [six in the final two innings),” said Niemeyer, afterwards, confident that the ‘Cats would rebound to play better on Thursday.
How confident?
“Very confident,” he added with a smile. “Very confident.”
“I’m happy, and I’m very happy for our kids,” added Wiss, the hint of a smile finally breaking through. “That game’s done, we’ve been through it, and another one that you have to learn from.
Pausing for a second, he nodded and said, “And I’m sure tomorrow’s going to be hard.”
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