He didn’t shoot the three…but he threw bull’s-eyes just the same. Dephos St. John’s Cam Elwer pitched the Jays past Fort Loramie. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Howard)
Cam Elwer was masterful on the mound Tuesday against Fort Loramie to set the stage for his brother to try to pitch Delphos St. John’s to its second state tournament appearance Wednesday.
By Marcus Hartman for Press Pros Magazine
Cedarville, OH — The first night of The Elwers Take Cedarville was a success, so Delphos St. John’s coach Jerry Jackson decided to call for an encore.
Cam Elwer, the senior sharp-shooter who keyed the Blue Jays’ undefeated run to the Division VII basketball state championship over the winter with the help of seven more members of the baseball team, can throw the little while ball pretty well, too — at least once he gets warmed up.
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The Redskins came back to the dugout buzzing about how hitable Elwer was early at Yellow Jackets Field.
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“If he throws you a curve over the plate, hit it!” one told another after an early at-bat.
And to be fair, they did show some ability to get to him early.
Fort Loramie’s Dylan Meyer singled off Elwer in the top of the first, and Lucas Brandewie hit a sharp grounder to third baseman Jackson Weichart for the third out, leaving some reason to think more could be in the offing on a breezy, warm afternoon.
The way Fort Loramie starter Sammy Goubeaux looked early raised questions about how many the Redskins would even need as well.
St. John’s shortstop Andrew Elwer, Cam’s younger brother scored on DH Maddox Kroeger’s single in the first, but Goubeaux worked around solitary singles in the second and third.
Delphos’ Andrew Elwer is in a celebratory mood following scoring in the Jays’ win over Fort Loramie.
He appeared ready to do so again in the fourth when Drake Fittro singled but was caught trying to steal second and Kroeger took a called third strike.
That gave the distinct feeling a pitcher’s duel was on tap — and it was, until it wasn’t. And St. John’s took control to win 8-1 in a Division VII regional semifinal.
Right after Kroeger took a seat, Wiechart doubled to right center, though he only found himself at second because center fielder Teddy Gaier couldn’t quite come up with what would have been a tough diving catch.
That turned out to be critical when Aidan Swick came up next for St. John’s and dumped a ball into short center two pitches later, again challenging Gaier’s range.
Again he was inches from making a terrific play, but the ball eluded his glove, this time as he dove coming in. That was also damaging as the ball bounced by him, allowing Swick to get all the way to third.
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He scored on a double to left field by Braden Lindeman that made it 3-1 and swung all the momentum back to the Blue Jays.
“That’s a tough play, and you know baseball’s a game of inches,” Jackson said. “Obviously we took advantage of some mistakes, but hey, we’re going to keep pressing.”
Delphos St. John’s Tyce McClain tags out a Loramie runner during Tuesday’s semi-final action in Cedarville.
Cam Elwer didn’t need anymore runs, but he got them anyway.
In the fifth, his brother doubled off Fort Loramie reliever Colton Rose and scored on a single by Kroeger to make it 4-1.
Hank Walpole ran for Kroeger and eventually scored on a bases loaded balk that made it 5-1.
The Blue Jays added three more in the sixth, all with two outs.
After Tyce McClain popped to second and Cam Elwer grounded to shortstop, Andrew Elwer walked, Kroeger walked, and both scored on a triple by Fittro to complete the scoring.
It was complete because by then the elder Elwer had found his groove. He worked a perfect sixth and only a two-out walk by pinch hitter Jack Cotner prevented him from doing the same in the seventh.
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No matter, Tyce made sure that was the end of it when he dove to stop a grounder up the middle and flipped to Andrew Elwer at second for the final out.
“He’s a phenomenal player,” Cam Elwer said of Tice, who endured a tough night at the plate going 0 for 4, but didn’t take those struggles to the field. “I played with him since we were little, and he never ceases to amaze me.”
Togetherness is a big theme for this team as it tries to pull off a second straight state championship run to win a trophy to go with the one for the basketball team.
“It’s interesting because we talked about that last night,” said Jackson, who has eight players on his team who played basketball, including both Elwers, McClain, Swick and Kroeger. “I told them the moments get bigger as you move through the playoffs, and you guys have seen this already. You guys know what this moment’s about. You know how to prepare, and these guys, these seniors that we have, they’re a good group of kids.”
Of course, it helps then the starting pitcher allows one run on five hits and strikes out five while walking two.
That was Cam Elwer’s line Tuesday night, when even the run he allowed was decidedly unearned.
Some pop at the plate…Jackson Wiechart made hard contact for the Blue Jays.
Rose reached on an error by the third baseman and moved up to second on an error when Tice tried to double him off first base after catching a line drive. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and came home on an infield single by Ree Simon, whose bouncer up the middle was hit just softly enough Tice couldn’t quite throw him out at first despite a great effort.
“Sometimes it takes me a bit to find my stuff, but once I get in the groove of things, I’m comfortable throwing all three of my pitches in any counts,” Cam Elwer said.
As for starring at both baseball and basketball, he said it’s a matter of, well, practice.
“It’s just practice and work ethic, you know?” Elwer said. “In basketball season, I’m throwing, doing driveline or hitting, and vice versa (with basketball). You’ve just got to sacrifice some time, and that’s kind of just what I did growing up.”
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Andrew Elwer, Kroeger, Fittro and Swick all had two hits for St. John’s, and the younger Elwer scored three tines.
Kroeger had a pair of RBIs while Fittro had an RBI and a run scored — as did Swick, who was on base three times thanks to a walk.
“I’m blessed with a good group of kids,” Jackson said. “I got nine seniors, and then we mix in some juniors and sophomores, and they’re all good kids. They get along. We have good team chemistry, and it’s amazing because it proves it out there on the field. I think everybody trusts each other.”
And what did the victory over Fort Loramie earn them?
A return trip south to Cedarville University, where they will meet Newton at 5 p.m. Wednesday for a shot at the school’s second state tournament trip (2011).
Andrew will be on the mound this time, an Elwer double play for a school looking to make it two state championships in a row.
“I told the boys gotta get home, get a good night’s sleep, and start over again just the way we did the day,” Jackson said. “So it’s a challenge. I’m sure both teams tomorrow are gonna have to go home, get a good night’s sleep, hydrate, and be ready to go tomorrow. So only the strong survive.”
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