By JOSH SIGLER
Tribune sportswriter
TERRE HAUTE — Throughout the Kokomo Post 6 senior baseball team’s 2010 campaign, manager Don Spall has had the luxury of sending a highly potent offense to the plate.
The Sixers continued to scorch the opponent in their first two American Legion regional games, pounding out 24 hits and scoring 18 runs.
That trend came to a screeching halt in Sunday’s championship round, as Post 6 was held scoreless for the final seven innings of a 10-4 loss to host Post 346. A winners-take-all, if-necessary game now comes into play at noon today. The winner advances to next weekend’s state finals in Plymouth.
The Sixers still managed 10 hits Sunday, but stranded just as many runners
“We had plenty of opportunities to stay in the game, and I don’t know what the heck happened,” Spall said. “That’s the first time in a month that our bats didn’t show up when we needed them.”
Post 346 reliever Jimmy Maxwell came on in the seventh, and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced. The only Sixer hitter to reach base on Maxwell was Matt Adams, who led off the eighth with a single. Terre Haute starter Kodie Girton got the win, allowing four runs on nine hits and fanning five in six innings of work.
“You have to give that lefty [Girton] some credit,” Spall said. “He was mixing his speeds up. We got to him early, and tied the game up early, but just couldn’t put anything together.”
A.J. Reed blasted a two-run homer in the first inning for Post 346 (35-5), his first of two dingers on the day, to help give Terre Haute an early 3-0 lead.
Devin Schacht countered for the Sixers (24-11) with an RBI single in the home half, and Joel Hoover drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk.
Jake Gorski continued to swing a hot bat Sunday after Saturday’s three-homer performance, and belted a two-RBI double in the second to tie the game at 4-4.
That was the last time a Sixer runner would see home plate.
Reed’s second bomb led off the fifth, and Jacob Hayes added a two-run shot for Post 346 in the fourth.
Kokomo’s best chance to snap out of the offensive funk came in the sixth. Adams was plunked to start the frame, Drew Brantley reached on an error at second base and Dalton Tinsley sent a bloop single into shallow center to load the bases with nobody out.
Girton retired Gorski, Michael Moreno and Dylan Green in order to escape the threat.
“That was big — it took the wind right out of our sails,” Spall said. “I think if we could’ve even gotten just one run in that inning, I think that would’ve changed the whole complexion of the game.
“It was a very emotional win [Saturday]. We came out and played very sound defense [Sunday], and our pitching was good enough to keep us in the game until we got down. Our bats just left us, and I don’t look for that to happen again [today], I’ll tell you that.”
Tyler Simmons drew the start and suffered the loss on the hill for the Sixers, allowing seven runs (six earned) on seven hits. He struck out three. Pete Keyes worked four innings of relief, and also allowed seven hits. Keyes gave up three runs and fanned a pair.
Schacht and Tinsley both went 2-for-4, while Gorski (team high two RBIs) and Damon Reel both went 2-for-5.
In his last two games, Gorski is 5-for-10 at the plate with five RBIs. Brantley contributed a double out of the nine hole Sunday.
Spall was confident that his team would regroup and rebound for today’s game, with the season on the line.
“I’m a firm believer that, sometimes, you have to play nine to win the second nine,” Spall said. “I know that everyone gets their pitching back from Friday night, so I’m assuming we’ll see A.J. Reed, a Kentucky recruit. It’s going to be their best against our offense, and we are going to have to put the ball in play and put some runs up.”
