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| Posted By: Cory Kundert on 2008-06-03 17:18:23 EST | Email Story | Flag As Spam | Comments (0) |
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The Monroe Times
Bullpen plays Band-Aid
Teasdale, MHS gets win as Kundert shines in relief
Christopher Heimerman
MONROE - Somebody get Jake Teasdale some Band-Aids.
Monroe's starter had to deal with a lot of "stuff" during Friday evening's nail-biting 6-5 victory over Big Foot to open WIAA Division 2 regional play.
The Cheesemaker senior's defense committed three errors, one being his own and two of them leading to unearned runs.
"But I knew our defense would pick it up like it has all season," Teasdale said.
After he drove in two runs with a gapper double to right center during the fifth inning, he also knew his legs were tired as he went out for the sixth with a 6-2 lead. Then a fisted Texas-League single by Chieftains starter Ben Hertel started a nightmarish top of the sixth that saw Teasdale pulled with the bases cranked and the tying run standing at first base and no one out.
"I was biting my nails pretty well down in the dugout," Teasdale said. "It was nerve-racking to say the least."
Sophomore Cory Kundert came on and got Ryan Earnest to hit a rocket to center field that Alex Dammen misjudged initially before spearing the liner at the apex of a well-timed leap, although a run scampered home.
After an RBI-groundout by Nate Nagel, Kundert got Michael Schauf to pop out before the order rolled over.
Monroe failed to pad its lead despite putting two on in the bottom half, but Kundert rolled Steven Dowden and Nate Hertel over at the top of Big Foot's order before losing Ben Hertel on six pitches.
Unfazed and facing the hulking, bearded Kyle Haeberlin who had reached all three times without a hit, Kundert threw a first-pitch strike before getting the massive senior to fly out to right.
"He had incredible command and threw strikes when he needed to," Teasdale said. "After he went 2-0 to the guy before (Haeberlin), we worried that he would fall behind. But he went right after him."
"You really can't say enough good things about what Cory does when he goes out there," Monroe coach Steve Christensen said. "He just loves to play the game of baseball."
Big Foot got unearned runs in the first and second due to errors. Monroe's first runs was equally-sloppy before Dammen sat on a fastball and drilled an RBI-double to right center to score Mitch Tordoff to tie the game. Dammen scored as Chieftains starter Ben Hertel threw a pickoff away at first two batters later.
The aforementioned Teasdale double proved the game-winner but he also set the table with a single in the fourth before eventually scoring on another Big Foot error.
Christensen marveled at his senior's mental fortitude on the hill as he allowed just two hits and plowed through the sort of mistakes that might unravel ... let's say, a junior.
"That's the difference between Jake last year and Jake this year," Christensen said. "We've put him in some tough situations and he's even put himself into tough spots. But he's learned to battle through the good times and the bad."
It was the ninth Monroe game settled by a single run as the club improved to 3-6 and perhaps further shed the less-than optimistic outlook it set out with months ago.
"Coming to this season, we didn't have a lot of expectations coming in and it feels incredible to get a playoff win," Teasdale said.
The Cheesemakers now travel to Edgerton Tuesday to challenge the top-ranked Crimson Tide in the regional semifinals |
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| Posted in baseball, high school sports, men's athletics |
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