Menomonee Falls team ace Ben Burns was unavailable due to participation in the WBCA Classic over the weekend and stalwart number two pitcher Adam Rubatt tired in the seventh as Brookfield Central erased a 5-1 deficit to the host Indians baseball team Monday night, forcing extra innings at 5-all
So it was up to the son of a former leaguer to hold down the fort until the offense could ride to the rescue, as Falls junior Logan August gave up a harmless single when he first came in and then put down five in a row in the seventh and the eighth giving the offense a chance to make up for its 12 men left on base.
Which it did when when Rubatt led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, advanced to second on Joe Sanicola's sacrifice and then scored when Cole Myhra singled and the Lancer leftfielder threw the ball past the third baseman.
It all amounted to a long night's work and a 6-5 Greater Metro Conference victory for the Indians.
"When I got in there (in the seventh inning), I just concentrated on throwing first-pitch strikes," August said. "That was the big thing."
"And no, I didn't sense any letdown (after the Lancers four-run rally). That's not the way our team is built." August is the son of former big leaguer and current Indian pitching coach Don August.
With the win, the Indians improved to 8-5 in GMC play and 20-8 overall while Central fell to a surprising 4-8 in league play and 16-12 overall.
Lancer coach Jeff Bigler was pleased with the rally but said it reflected a disturbing pattern his team has fallen into lately.
"We've come back and won after falling behind before," he said, "but it's the fact that we're constantly having to dig ourselves out of a hole that's bothering me. We've got to get out fast once in awhile. Just nothing is coming easily to us right now."
That was until the eighth, when the Lancers tagged Rubatt for four runs and earned the tie. Collin O'Gorman knocked in the first run of the rally with a groundout, Mike Mierow had an RBI single, and Billy Calawerts roped a hard hit to right-center which he legged into second for a two-run double and a tie score.
Indian coach Pat Hansen then pulled the game Rubatt and put in August. August then surrendered a single to Brendan Dolan to put runners on the corners.
But then came one of the plays of the game, as when Jack Lawton's attempted suicide squeeze bunt dribbled a short ways up the third base line, alert Indian catcher Max Poeske had enough time to pick up the ball bare-handed and tag the sprinting Calawerts going by for the second out.
"That was a huge play, that really pumped us up," said August, who then got a strikeout to end the Central seventh.
The Indians left another runner on third in the seventh as Lancer reliever Ryan Hinz induced a pretty 4-6-3 doubleplay to end the inning. But then August was able to put the side down in order in the top of the eighth, which left enough time for Rubatt, Sanicola and Myhra to mount their own rally.
It was the 10th win in 12 tries for the Indians, but it did leave Hansen scratching his head.
"The good news was, was that we kept our composure," he said, "and we also got a big hit from Cole, and Logan's effort was just huge, but that was just way too many men left on base. We have to do a much better job with guys in scoring position."
Normally, it would have been Burns' turn to go tonight, but because he participated in the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Classic this weekend, throwing several innings, he was not available. Rubatt, who pitched well last Wednesday in a 12-2 win over league leader Muskego, got the call.
He was staked to a 3-0 lead in the first, helping himself with an RBI triple. Corey Volden also knocked in a run and Rubatt himself came home after an error on an attempted pickoff try at first.
But opportunity slipped by for the Indians, as Mierow, who started and went five innings for Central, got out of one jam after another before giving way to Thomas Showers in the sixth.
"I know everyone is surprised that we're 4-8 in conference," said Bigler, "but the simple fact is, is that we have to play a good quality game from beginning to end and we're just not doing that right now."
The two teams will play again Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at McCoy Field.
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