Saturday, July 26, 2014
By Greg Gulas
STRUTHERS
His teammates call him rubber arm.
Ohio Glaciers pitcher Zac Lauther confessed that if necessary, he could probably throw all day long.
He almost had to on Friday.
Lauther scattered five hits, striking out 15 as the Glaciers posted a 2-0 victory over the Stark County Terriers in NABF Senior Division World Series action at Bob Cene Park.
His shutout came less than 24 hours after the Glaciers suffered a 6-0 whitewashing at the hands of the Sayo Grays for their first loss of the tournament.
“The goal was to keep my fastball away from their hitters; not as much for location as it was to keep it in the strike zone,” Lauther said. “I also felt comfortable with both my curve and slider, but the two-seam fastball was what I went to when I needed to reach back and get something extra.”
While Lauther was in a groove, his pitching counterpart, Jake Szendrey, mowed down the first 11 batters that he faced. He retired 13 of the first 15 and took a no-hitter into the final frame.
He only allowed two runners with just one advancing as far as second base.
That changed in the final inning.
Jamie Switalksi led off the inning with a triple for the Glaciers’ first hit. After Greg Popatak struck out, Christian Porterfield’s sacrifice fly netted the game’s first run and the game-winning RBI.
“I guessed fastball and just happened to guess right,” Switalski said. “His slider and curve were pitches that he used quite a bit today, but he came back with a fastball and I was able to drive it.”
Zack Miller followed with the second triple of the inning, racing home when Lauther singled.
“Our hitting came alive when it had to and that’s all that counts,” said Lauther, an Xavier University recruit.
Glaciers manager Don Pletcher said both pitchers were excellent on the hill.
“We’ve come to expect that type of pitching performance out of Zac,” Pletcher said. “If you don’t get to him early then it’s tough to get to him later in the game.
“The goal is to play on Saturday and Sunday and we’re still in the mix for that,” Pletcher said.
In 62/3 innings of work, Szendrey finished with a three-hitter while striking out seven batters.