Varsity Baseball | May 22, 2019

Lake Central holds on to eliminate host Munster

MUNSTER ā€” Lake Central junior pitcher Brock Begesha had the customary ice Saran-wrapped around his right arm after Wednesdayā€™s performance against rival Munster in a Class 4A sectional opener.

Begesha came on in relief of senior starter Zack Dobos to nail down L.C.ā€™s 4-3 win over host Munster.

ā€œI just wanted to come in, throw hard, throw strikes and pick Dobos up,ā€ said Begesha, who has a 0.69 ERA. ā€œDobos had a good start still. Maybe didnā€™t have his best stuff, but heā€™s our ace and we expect him to be good every time.ā€

Begesha entered the game with one out in the top of the fifth inning with L.C. leading 4-2, but Munster (16-6) had runners on first and second base. He got two strikeouts to preserve the lead.

ā€œOut of the bullpen, I always come in with a little extra energy, looking for a strikeout with a guy on third, definitely,ā€ he said. ā€œI got ā€˜em, so thatā€™s what Iā€™m looking to do.ā€

Munsterā€™s Nick Hamilton tripled to open the sixth and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ronnie Nowak, but Begesha got a strikeout and groundout to avert further damage.

In the seventh, Begesha issued a two-out walk but registered his fifth strikeout to end the game.

ā€œHe wants the ball,ā€ L.C. coach Mike Swartzentruber said. ā€œZack is our ace and has been for two years, and he didnā€™t have his best stuff. He struggled, but he struck out (Nick) Fies with the bases loaded on a 3-2 pitch (in the fourth inning). That was a huge pitch. That may have been the biggest play of the game.ā€

Munster took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a double by Garrett Manous, a walk by Fies, a sac bunt by Will Melby before Costa Sirounis drove in both runs with a single.

L.C. scored four runs in the second inning on just two hits. Two walks by Munster freshman starter Brady Ginaven and an error fueled the rally.

ā€œIf we couldā€™ve caught a couple pop-ups, especially that first one, it couldā€™ve been a different story,ā€ Munster coach Bob Shinkan said. ā€œBut Brady, heā€™s a good one. As a freshman with the poise he had on the mound, Iā€™m really proud of him.ā€

Junior Nolan Zahorsky had the big blow with a two-run single to give the Indians (21-6) a 4-2 lead.

ā€œOur pitchers kept us in the game the whole time,ā€ Zahorsky said. ā€œI had my chance to come up, got a pitch I liked, tomahawked it into right field. ā€¦ I got a fastball up inside. Iā€™m not sure how I hit it, but I did.ā€

The two-run cushion proved to be enough.

ā€œIt wouldā€™ve been nice to get some insurance runs, but I have trust in my pitchers,ā€ Zahorsky said. ā€œThey did a great job, and all glory to them.ā€

Munster out-hit Lake Central 10-4.

ā€œThe thing that we didnā€™t do is we didnā€™t get the timely hit,ā€ Shinkan said. ā€œThere were three innings, couldā€™ve been four innings where we had guys in scoring position, and we just couldnā€™t get that big hit. And they came up with the big pitches, made the big plays at the right time and thatā€™s just baseball.ā€

L.C. advances to play at 5 p.m. Friday in the first semifinal game against the winner of Wednesdayā€™s late game between Lowell and Morton.

ā€œWeā€™ve got a little speed. Weā€™re opportunistic,ā€ Swartzentruber said. ā€œWe usually get good pitching, weā€™re usually pretty good defensively so it gives ua chance. (Wednesday) night was a toss-up, two good teams, and we definitely feel fortunate we came out on top.ā€

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