Hubmen Improve Upon Difficult Opening Week to Get First Win of the Season
By Andy Buckner
While the weather made it difficult to believe, last Thursday was the day for the Hubmen baseball team to break out the bats and begin their regular season. In the cold and rain, starting pitcher Wyatt Clark got into trouble early against visiting Hutchinson, giving up a run in the first inning and allowing a deep fly ball with two runners on and one out. The Hubmen spirits were briefly lifted by what was initially called an incredible catch by right fielder Blake Chalupsky, who then threw out a baserunner on a force-out at first base. After further discussion between the umpires, it was ruled that Chalupsky did not catch the ball, and the play was instead ruled a one-run double.
“We stream all of our games, so I was able to watch it. The umpires came to the right answer that the ball did drop,” Head Coach Brandon Arnold said after having a chance to see the replay.
After waiting in the dugout during a lengthy delay while the umpires deliberated the call, the Hubmen had to go back out on the field and get loose to record the final two outs in the top of the first. Before getting those outs, the Hubmen gave up two more runs to go down 3-0 before they had a chance to swing the bats. Errors on the field eventually caused the Hubmen deficit to grow to 11-0, but in the fourth inning, the Hubmen bats showed signs of life.
With the lineup turning around for the second time, sophomore Michael Thrune began the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff walk. Thrune then advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on an error-filled play that began with a single from senior Shawn Klehr and ended with Klehr at third base. The Hubmen continued cutting into the lead when Klehr scored on an infield single from sophomore Joey Lamusga, who advanced on a throwing error and would later score when a wild pitch was immediately followed by an errant throw back to the pitcher by the Hutchinson catcher.
Although the Hubmen continued to give up some runs to Hutchinson, they continually clawed back. While the lead proved to be insurmountable early, there were positives to be taken away from the fact that on a night with miserable weather, the Hubmen continued to fight and avoided losing by way of the mercy rule, forcing a full seven-inning game. Ultimately, the opening game was a 15-5 loss for the Hubmen.
“I was really proud with the way we fought and competed as a team,” Arnold said. “We did a really good job mentally; it was a lot of physical mistakes that we made. We didn’t have bad baserunning, we weren’t throwing to the wrong base.”
Unfortunately, the Hubmen were unable to shore up the defense against Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted the following day, with three errors contributing to three runs allowed. The bats were also quieted, with the Hubmen offense starting the game off with eight consecutive strikeouts and only scoring one run in the entire game on a sixth-inning fielder’s choice. In the 3-1 loss, there was one major positive to take away from the game: Michael Thrune had the best pitching performance of his varsity baseball career thus far, going the distance with only one of the three runs he allowed being earned.
“He threw for us as an eighth grader, he threw for us as a ninth grader. He’s had the experience of ups and downs at the varsity level, but that was his best outing that he has thrown in a varsity uniform. So, it was really exciting from a coaching standpoint to see him perform like that because I know he puts in a lot of work for baseball,” Arnold mentioned. “To see that pay off in his first outing of his sophomore year is really cool to see. We are really, really hopeful for some great things from him this year.”
The Hubmen had the weekend to reset and prepare to right the ship against Tri-City United, which they did with aplomb. The game was a treat for all in attendance, but especially for those who enjoy the station-to-station, run-manufacturing brand of offense that is beginning to be classified as “old-school” in the higher levels of baseball.
The scoring opened for the Hubmen with a leadoff single in the bottom of the second by junior Griffin Dahmen, who had given up one early run on the mound. With junior Brock Lucas courtesy running for Dahmen, junior Owen Maloney laid down a picture-perfect bunt that allowed him to reach with a base hit while advancing Lucas. Lucas eventually scored on a TCU error, and Maloney went on to score on a sacrifice fly from senior Kellen Dahlen.
Dahmen locked in and shut down the TCU offense for the rest of the game, with a final line score of one run (which was earned) on four hits while striking out seven and giving up no walks. It was a pristine season debut on the mound for the third-year varsity starter.
“Griffin threw a heck of a ballgame,” Arnold said. “You’re going to have a lot of chances to win games when you throw strikes and you make the routine plays, and that’s what we did.”
On the offensive side, the Hubmen kept manufacturing runs to continue giving Dahmen a good lead to work with. Dahmen and senior Jackson Lewis added RBI singles in the third inning, and another manufactured run came in the fifth in a first-and-third situation. Senior Jack Pass’s successful attempt to steal second forced a throwing error by the TCU catcher, which Brock Lucas took advantage of to score the fifth run of the ballgame. Another run was added in the sixth on a long fly ball from Joey Lamusga, which was dropped by the TCU center fielder. The hit may have had a chance to go out of the ballpark in more favorable weather conditions, and Lamusga ended up being credited with an RBI double on the play.
All told, the Hubmen stole eight bases in the 6-1 win, wreaking havoc on the basepaths. Such baserunning efforts tend to yield good results in the game of baseball. The baserunning prowess was complemented by smart situational hitting from the Hubmen offense.
“It’s all about having an approach to the plate,” Arnold noted. “We try our best in pregame hitting and in practice that our different rounds include different situational hitting. We try to put them in as many game-like situations in practice and in pregame batting practice so that when we do have it in a game, we can execute to the best of our ability.”
The Hubmen will continue to lean on that situational awareness and baserunning abilities for success in the days ahead. For now, they sit at 1-2 in the early goings of the season, with momentum going into a tough matchup against Southwest Christian High School this Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the beautiful Memorial Field in Cologne.
Notable Hubmen Performances from the First Three Games of the Season:
4/10 vs. Hutchinson
Shawn Klehr (Sr.): 4 AB, 3 H, 1 R, 1 SB
4/11 vs. Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted
Michael Thrune (So.): 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
4/14 vs. TCU
Griffin Dahmen (Jr.): 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
4 AB, 3 H, 1 RBI, 2 R (via courtesy runner)
Shawn Klehr (Sr.): 2 AB, 1 H, 2 SB, 1 R
Owen Maloney (Jr.): 3 AB, 2 H, 1 SB, 1 R