From the Capital-Journal:
WESTMORELAND — Rock Creek went into Tuesday’s showdown with visiting Rossville for the Mid-East League title knowing full well that ace Caleb Rogge would be available only on a limited basis, if at all.
If there was pressure on Mustang starters Justin Reiss and Shiloh Schaake to deliver, the duo hardly let it affect them. Reiss held an explosive Bulldawg attack to just three hits and one run in five innings in a 3-1 Mustang win in the opener and Schaake scattered eight hits through five innings as Rock Creek punctuated the sweep with an 11-2 win in the nightcap.
The victories gave Rock Creek its second straight league title — the Mustangs also swept Rossville late for last year’s crown.
“Shiloh and Justin came out and did their job,” Rock Creek senior Jackson Goodmiller said. “I’m proud of the way they are buckling down and getting the job done.”
Rogge did make an appearance, working the final two innings of the opener and striking out four of the seven hitters he faced. But his relief duty was just a bonus after Reiss was solid through the first five, striking out five.
The only run Reiss allowed came on a throwing error in the third, briefly tying the game 1-1. But Rock Creek came right back in its half of the inning, taking the lead on Nick Beyer’s RBI single. Goodmiller singled home an insurance run in the fifth.
The Mustangs constantly put pressure on Rossville’s infield with a sharp small-ball game and the Bulldawgs didn’t respond well. After committing two errors in the first game, Rossville had four more in the second.
Coupled with a few mental lapses defensively and on the base paths, the mistakes were just too much in the title tilts. Rossville’s 12-game winning streak ended with the sweep.
“This is stuff we’ve worked on since day one — covering bases, how to field bunts, where to play — just day one stuff,” Rossville coach Richard Thomas said. “They’ve got our number right now, got us three times at the end of last year. We’ve got time to correct some things and the nice thing is we’ve got a make-up on Thursday and get right back out on the dirt, which could be the best thing for us.”
The Bulldawgs took a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the second game on an RBI single from Nick Reesor and an RBI groundout from Corbin Horak.
Rock Creek chipped away with single runs in the first (Alex Feldkamp RBI single), third (Goodmiller RBI single) and fourth (Connor Greening RBI single) before breaking the game open with a six-run fifth. Rossville committed two errors in the inning, but Goodmiller, Beyer, Greening and Reiss all had RBIs in the big inning before the Mustangs tacked on two more in the sixth to close out the win and sweep.
“We stayed mentally hooked both games,” Goodmiller said. “Our goal was the get up on them early and make them fight for it. Game two was a bit opposite and we had to find our groove and fight back, but we did and just took the game away.”
ROCK CREEK 3-11, ROSSVILLE 1-2
Rossville 001 000 0 — 1 3 2
Rock Creek 011 010 x — 3 8 1
Woodcock and Reesor. Reiss, Rogge (6) and Feldkamp. W — Reiss. L — Woodcock. S — Rogge. 2B — Rock Creek: Beyer.
Second game
Rossville 200 000 0 — 2 8 4
Rock Creek 101 162 x — 11 11 2
Th. Horak, Bradshaw (5), Morris (5), Dyche (6) and Reesor. Schaake, Zenger (5) and Feldkamp. W — Schaake. L — Th. Horak. 2B — Rock Creek: Nider.
Records — Rossville, 12-3; Rock Creek, 17-2.
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