Conner makes statement in win vs. Ryle
Conner baseball coach Brad Arlinghaus said his seniors took it as a slight when they weren't ranked in the preseason coaches' poll. Tuesday, those same seniors punched their ticket to the Ninth Region tournament with a 4-0 win over Ryle in the 33rd District semifinals.
Cameron Ross, one of those six seniors, had an exceptional day. On the mound, Ross pitched a shutout, allowing just two hits and three walks to go with eight strikeouts. At the plate, he went 2-for-3 with a double and scored two runs.
"That's a gutsy performance out of a senior, and that's what you want out of your senior leaders," Arlinghaus said. "All year, all six of my seniors have stepped up, from day one of conditioning all the way until now."
Ross helped himself by jump-starting the Cougars' offense in the bottom of the first. After an infield single, he stole second and came around to score on a ground ball by senior Jared Williams that was errantly thrown over first base and out of play. A single by junior Ryan Ward scored Williams to make it 2-0 after one.
One of Ross' highlights on the mound came in the top of the second when he faced his only real scoring threat. After back-to-back walks, an error during a rundown allowed both runners to advance a base with only one out, but Ross got a groundout and then a strikeout on a nasty breaking ball to wiggle out of the jam.
"Last time we faced them I had a perfect game through five and a third, so I didn't get too worried at that point, but it was a nice wake-up call to have to bear down that early," Ross said. "The rest of the game that upped my intensity and I started to make better pitches and execute more."
That was the last time Ryle threatened to score. The Raiders only had three batters reach base safely the rest of the game, and nobody made it to second base after the second inning. Conner senior catcher Blake Hart said he's caught some really good performances by Ross, but Tuesday night's was the best of the year.
"It was the best I've seen him all year. He was in the zone from the time that we were in the bullpen warming up," said Hart. "Everything was working for him. He's got a fastball, curveball, change-up, slider and a sinker, and he had command of all of them."
Conner played add-on in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings.
Dalton Harshbarger started it off with a one-out single in the fourth. He then stole second and took third on a wild pitch before sophomore Jacob Owens drove him in with a double.
Ross' second hit, a double to lead off the fifth, ended Ryle starter Jeremy Downs' night. Ross moved to third on a bunt by Blaise Ostertag and scored on a single by Williams.
The second-seeded Cougars will take on No. 1 Boone County in the the 33rd District final Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Boone County High School.
VIEW FROM THE SIDELINE: Arlinghaus said his seniors had some added motivation all season after being slighted in the preseason polls. "Nobody gave us a chance to be here. People said it was a three-team race, and we were not one of the three teams. We were ranked outside of the top 10 in the preseason, which I know means nothing, but at the same time these kids looked at it as an insult.
"We have a tradition in the last five or six years. This is now the fifth time in six years that we've made it to the regional tournament, so they took that as a slap in the face and an insult. They've battled all year long to get to this point."
Arlinghaus agreed with catcher Blake Hart that Tuesday night was the Ross' best performance of the year on the mound, "That's the best and the hardest he has thrown all year long. He kept his emotions in check, and it was just an outstanding performance by Cameron."
Hart added that working with a pitcher as talented as Ross is enjoyable from his perspective, "It's fun calling a game for him. To know you can call anything and he's going to hit his spot is the best."
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ross was not only dominant on the mound, but his 2-for-3 line at the plate with two runs scored was a big part of the Cougars' offensive success as well.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Sophomore Jacob Owens' RBI double in the fourth inning increased the Cougars' lead to 3-0, and also seemed to zap the Raiders of any energy or momentum that existed in their dugout.
W–Ross. L–Downs. Leaders: C–Ross 2-3, 2B; Owens 2B, RBI; Lockstead 2B. Records: C 20-9, R 14-20.