EAGLE — Just as they did in game one of the 5A District III Championship series, Eagle took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Only this time, they held on for the win.
The Mustangs evened the series at 1-1 with a 3-0 win over Middleton Wednesday night on their home field. The result sets up a game three winner-take-all Thursday night back at Middleton High School.
The matchup on the mound pitted Middleton’s Ian Lenius vs Eagle’s Caleb Zawadzki. The two pitched against each other in the regular season meeting between the Vikings and Mustangs April 23. In that game, Lenius threw seven scoreless innings, striking out 12 in a 1-0 win for Middleton .
This time around, it was Zawadzki’s turn to pitch a complete game shutout.
The sophomore has continued to progress as one of the premier arms in the state, striking out nine batters in seven innings Wednesday night to lower his ERA on the season to 0.64.
“This was a big game for us,” Zawadzki said. “We had to come out with a lot of energy. It’s a game I’ve been wanting to pitch, wanting to win. I have trust in my boys behind me. They came out and played.”
He held the Vikings (21-5) to three hits, none before the fourth inning. But he still had to deal with a runner on base in each inning as he walked five batters in the game. The defense behind him was clean, committing zero errors.
“He’s calm under pressure,” Eagle head coach Scott Deck said about Zawadzki. “He almost gets more competitive when those situations occur. For him, nothing fazes him, knowing that they have good hitter after good hitter in that lineup.”
Middleton’s defense was not as clean, which proved to be costly. The Mustangs (20-3) scored two runs in the first inning due to a throwing error by Middleton shortstop Boomer Collins. With the bases loaded and one out on the board, Eagle’s Jimmy Flynn put the ball in play to second base. The Vikings got the out at second base, but an off-target throw to first allowed another run to score.
The Mustangs’ other run came in the fourth inning, also with the bases loaded and one out. Adam Fulton lined out to the shortstop and with the runners off the bag, Collins tried to throw the runner at second out. His throw was off-target again, allowing Declan Ragan to score from third base. With a 3-0 lead and a stellar pitching-defense combo, that’s all it took to take the series to a game three.
After dicing them up in the regular season, Eagle disrupted Lenius on the mound a little more, recording five hits and drawing four walks. He threw five innings with only three strikeouts.
“Last time we faced him, he struck out a lot of guys,” Deck said. “They didn’t have to play a lot of defense. This time, a lot of people (on base), pressure game, just putting the ball in play and making teams make plays is the name of the game. Limiting the strikeouts and battling at the plate.”
Thursday’s game will be the final tune-up for both teams ahead of the state tournament, who have already clinched a spot in next week’s tournament.
Local News
Comments / 0