Apr 02, 2008 - 04:05:08 CDT
It took awhile for ZachWentz to get in the groove, but it was worth the wait.Wentz, Century's senior pitching ace, opened the season throwing the lion's share of a one-hitter on Tuesday.
With Wentz and reliever Ryne Lund stealing the show, Century defeated Bismarck High 6-1 in a season-opening West Region baseball game at Municipal Ballpark.
Century's pitchers also took charge in the nonconference nightcap, pitching the Patriots to a 2-1 win.
Wentz, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound returning all-stater, worked 4 2-3 hitless innings. The big right-hander walked four and fanned 10 before leaving with a pitch count of 92, 56 of them strikes.
Lund, a senior right-hander, finished up, retiring seven of eight hitters. The only blemish on his record was a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh, Bismarck's first and only hit.
Wentz walked the first two men he faced and surrendered an unearned run before closing the inning with three strikeouts.
From that point he was in command, whiffing two men in the second inning, one in the third, two in the fourth and two in the fifth.
"I started out a little shaky. ... It was one of those things where it took a while to warm up and find the strike zone," he said."In the second inning I felt like I was getting in the groove."
Wentz didn't mess much with breaking pitches, bearing down on the BHShitters with a powerful fastball. He said he was scheduled to throw 80 pitches. He finished the fourth inning with 77 and CHSco-coaches Mike Gustavsson and Kent Schweigert let him start the fifth.
"They said, 'you've got three batters next inning. Let's see how you do against those three,'" Wentz said.
When he issued a two-out walk to JonHausauer, Wentz went to first base and Lund took the mound. Lund was within two outs of finishing a no-hitter when Tyler Karel drilled a 1-and-1 pitch over left fielder Dave Gendreau's head for a double.
"No one said anything, but everyone knew," Wentz said of the no-hit bid. "... That's just the way it goes. Bismarck is a good hitting team, and it was just a matter of time before they broke through for one."
It didn't take Century long enough to give Wentz the cushion he needed to pick up his first win.
The teams traded runs in the first inning. Century made it 2-1 with an unearned run in the top of the second and broke through against all-state right-hander Hausauer in the third.
Wentz opened the top of the third with an infield hit and Hunter Johnson drilled a off-field double down the right field line to put two men in scoring position. Hausauer wild-pitched Wentz home and Johnson was thrown out trying to score on Wentz's heels. Luke Jesperson's single and BradyWolf's RBIdouble to left-center completed the two-run rally.
Century's final two runs scored in the seventh. Wentz rapped a one-out single and Bismarck relievers Alex Deyle and Tyler Peterson followed up by walking three and hitting a man.
All told, Century pitchers surrendered just six hits and no earned runs in the twin bill while walking four and striking out 13.
Bismarck coach Troy Olson said there were extenuating circumstances that affected his team's limited offense. "It's asking a lot to have a team that's had a week inside and a week outside to face a guy like Wentz," he said.
Gustavsson gave high grades to all four CHSpitchers who worked.
"Ithink pitching is going to be a big strong point. We've got pitchers who can go out and throw strikes and give us a chance to win," he said.
Gustavsson also gave his offense a pat on the back. "We got eight hits in the first game against two of the better pitchers they're going to throw against us," he said. "We got some hits out of the bottom of the order and that's nice."
Wentz said Tuesday's sweep had all sorts of extras. "Any time you can get a conference win against Bismarck in the first game of the year it's a big boost,"he noted.
3 NOTES:Game-time temperature was 43 degrees. The mercury stood at 40 when the second game ended. ... Lund threw out two men at the plate from center field in the second game on virtually identical plays. He gunned down Tyler Johnson trying to score on Jared Hochhalter's grounder up the middle for the first out in the bottom of the fourth. One out later, he nailed Hochhalter at the plate on Deyle's bouncer up the middle.
Century 6, Bismarck 1
Century 112 000 2 - 6 8 1
Bismarck 100 000 0 - 1 1 3
ZachWentz, Ryne Lund (5) and Taylor Isakson; JonHausauer, Alex Deyle (4), Tyler Peterson (7) and Tyler Johnson.W - Wentz, 1-0. L - Hausauer, 0-1. HR - None.
Highlights: C - Dave Gendreau 1-for-3, double, 1 R, 1 RBI; Hunter Johnson 1-for-3, double; BradyWolf 2-for-3, double, 2 RBIs; Wentz 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 SB; 4.2 IP, 0 H, 1R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 10 SO; Lund 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO. B-Tyler Karel 1-for-3, double.
Century 2, Bismarck 1
Century 001 01 - 2 5 3
Bismarck 000 01 - 1 5 0
BradyWolf, Tate Leapaldt (5) and Dave Gendreau; EsleyThorton, TomWay(4) and Trevor Johnson. W - Wolf, 1-0. L- Thorton, 0-1. Save - Leapaldt. HR- None.
Highlights:C- Gendreau 1-for-2, 1 R; Leapaldt 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI; Wentz 1-for-1, 1 RBI; Wolf 4.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0BB, 2 SO; Leapaldt 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0R, 0BB, 1 SO. B-Sam Ingemansen 1-for-2, double, 1 RBI; Thorton 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO; Law 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO.
Records:Century 1-0 West Region, 2-0 overall; Bismarck 0-1, 0-2.
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