Tipp rallies late to advance to District Finals
Between a solid performance on the mound from Drew Husic and a late rally for the Tipp offense, the Red Devils defeated Oakwood 5-3 last Tuesday in the Division Two baseball sectional tournament. Tipp advanced to the District Finals for a big matchup with Badin last Thursday.
The Red Devils then lost to Badin 6-0 on Thursday night, losing in the district championship game.
“A superb effort from all of the guys and hats off to Drew Husic,” Tipp coach Cameron Dickens said after the game. “He gave up some runs early, but he started to get into a groove. He kept us in the ballgame for a chance to win, and even though we had some chances early on we didn’t capitalize on, we put together some good quality at bats and felt good where we were at.”
Oakwood scored to open the game with a run in the top of the first to grab the early lead, and Tipp looked like they were going to respond quickly when Preston Zumwalt singled and moved up when Landon Turner reached on an error, but a failed squeeze bunt kept the Red Devils down 1-0 after the opening inning.
The Lumberjacks scored two more in the second again before Tipp looked to try to get them back in the bottom of the second. Jaxon Hill and Peyton Schultz singled to open the bottom of the second for Tipp and an infield hit from Zumwalt loaded the bases with two outs, but Tipp failed to bring them in.
Tipp finally scored in the third with two outs as Carson Jackson singled, Hill reached on an error and Schultz delivered with a single to cut their deficit to 2-1.
In the fifth, Landon Muhlenkamp singled and later scored on an error when Schultz drove in another run with a single, tying the game at 3-3.
While Husic was retiring ten in a row on the mound, Tipp took the lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Zumwalt singled and stole second, then Turner singled in a run. Brady Liskey gave Tipp their sixth run of the game with a hit before Husic closed the door in the seventh.
“To not quit and not give up and fight back against a good Oakwood team was a great job by all of them,” Dickens said. “Bryce Eckert had a couple of great defensive plays in the outfield.”
“We have gone through a lot this year, but we have never stopped believing in this team.”
*The Red Devils could only muster five hits on the night as they lost to Badin. Five different Tipp players collected hits as they fell behind 5-0 after the third inning and could not recover. The final score was Badin 6, Tipp 0.