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Unearned run foils the Clippers
By Joe Scalzo
columbus
Just outside the dugout following Thursday’s Division IV state semifinal, Columbiana High baseball coach Scott Knox gathered his team together and delivered two messages: Take pride in this season and start getting ready for the next.
“Believe me, I know how you feel,” said Knox, who played on the Clippers’ only other state tournament team in 1981. “It’s a [pain].”
His team had just lost a heartbreaking 1-0 game on an unearned run to Newark Catholic at Huntington Park, spoiling a dream run through the postseason and a dream game by junior ace Hank Schlueter.
“Whoever blinks in that type of game is going to come up short,” Knox said. “It was a great run and it came down to the end.
“We talk about it at the beginning of every year about where we want to end up and that’s state. We got here this year and this is a big step forward for our program.”
Schlueter, a free-spirited lefty who is a study in opposites, tossed a three-hitter with seven strikeouts and just one walk.
He did it mostly on fastballs — he couldn’t locate his slider — and carried no-hitter into the fourth inning. He didn’t even let the unearned run faze him, retiring the final seven Newark Catholic batters after the game’s only error.
“Hank Schlueter pitched an amazing game,” said Columbiana’s junior leadoff hitter Andrew Burdick, who went 2-for-2 with a walk. “He deserved the win but we just couldn’t provide any runs for him.”
Schlueter (4-4) started his routine on Wednesday night by playing Pokemon — “I don’t tell a lot of people about that,” he said, laughing — and was locked in from the beginning, fielding a one-hopper to throw out the first Green Wave hitter.
Pokemon, a Japanese game that was a craze in the mid-1990s, seems to fit Schlueter well. He plays America’s most traditional sport but also wears skater shoes after games. He listens to an unlikely combination of hip-hop (Eminem is a favorite) and country music.
He appeared calm and collected — even after the game — yet admitted he was very aware it wasn’t just another tournament game.
“I know a lot of us were all overwhelmed with this stadium and the atmosphere and everything,” he said, then added, “Next year when we come here we won’t be as overwhelmed.”
Newark Catholic (15-19), which will meet Fort Loramie in Saturday’s state final, was in a different spot, making its third straight state appearance and seventh over the last decade.
The Green Wave got a terrific pitching performance from sophomore Jimmy Lough, who threw a five-hitter with four strikeouts and two walks.
Kevin Cox scored the game’s only run when he led off the fifth with a walk, stole second and scored with two outs on a grounder to second by Jake Nelson. Columbiana junior Jeff Davidson gathered in a tricky hop but his throw to first sailed over Jay Williamson’s head and allowed Cox to score.
“I was hoping that was all it took because after we got the one, I didn’t think we was gonna get any more,” said Green Wave manager John Cannizzaro, who has won four state titles in 15 years. “They’ve got a nice team. A nice team.”
Columbiana had runners at second in the second, third and fifth innings but had two outs in all three cases.
“We had our chances offensively,” Knox said. “We just weren’t able to get that big hit.”
The Clippers (22-11) lose just three seniors, although one of them is leading hitter Tyler Denmeade.
But as Schlueter said, “That just means we’ll have a new best hitter next year.”
Even better, with Schlueter and junior Josh Saverko, they’ll have the same best pitchers.
“You can’t buy experience; you’ve got to go through it,” Knox said. “These guys have set the bar to a real high standard and now we’ve got to keep climbing.”