Cougars defeated in sectional title game

GREENUP – Four years ago, there was a big freshman class that took the field at Lions Field in Kinmundy.

Many of those 15 athletes still remained with the Cougars on Saturday when South Central took the field for the sectional championship game, and that’s not exactly the position coach Curt Jones thought the team would be in when he first met the group.

“When they walked in the doors of the high school, I had 15 freshmen out there, and I said, ‘Good group out here,’” Jones said. “Then I watched them practice, and said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. We’ll never win a game with this group.’

“Look what they’ve become,” he said. “They have done nothing but work, and will be hard to replace.”

Not only did the class win a game, it won several, with most members having a part in South Central’s 2012 run to the sectional finals, as well.

The careers of those seniors came a close in Saturday's sectional title game, as the Cougars ran into a tough Windsor team and took a 3-1 loss.

The Blue Devils needed a comeback to get there, however, scoring three runs in the sixth inning to erase a 1-0 South Central lead.

Prior to that inning, Windsor’s offense had been 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight runners on base, including six on second or third bases.

And that all was happening without South Central using one of its top two pitchers.

Sophomore Dylen Peters, who hadn’t thrown more than three straight innings during the regular season, started for the Cougars, striking out five and lasting 5 2/3 innings before coming out after being unable to work out of one last jam.

“I am so proud of Dylen,” Jones said. “He has never been in this situation before, and hasn’t thrown that many pitches this year.

“I knew (that ability) was there, but I didn’t know if we would get that.”

Windsor’s No. 8 and 9 hitters each got two-out singles in the sixth, and that was followed by a pair of hit batsmen and a walk, prompting Jones to switch pitchers.

The way that Peters had been pitching, Jones said he thought that Peters would be able to get out of the inning after the two hits, but once his control began waning, he had no choice but to go to a reliever.

South Central took the early lead in the second inning, with senior Austin Schwarm doubling with one out, and senior Dylan Smith following with an RBI single to right.

But after that, the Cougars (11-15) mustered just two hits and three walks off of Windsor senior Christian Vonderheide, who pitched a complete game and struck out 10 to lead the Blue Devils to their 25th win of the spring.

“(Vonderheide) was outstanding,” Jones said. “We had a few opportunities, but he pretty much took care of us.

“He has a quick arm, and his curveball is good,” he said. “We weren’t going to hit that, as long as he threw it for strikes.”

South Central threatened in the seventh, with sophomore Noah Powless doubling with one out, but a diving catch by Windsor’s centerfielder and a strikeout ended the game.

Box score
Windsor 3
South Central 1
W: 0-0-0-0-0-3-0—3-10-0
S: 0-1-0-0-0-0-0—0-4-0
WP: Vonderheide; 7 IP, 10 K
LP: Peters; 5 2/3 IP, 5 K
Cougars: Smith, 1-for-3, RBI; Schwarm, 1-for-3, 2B, run; Powless, 1-for-3, 2B; Fischer Tharp, 1-for-3, SB; Dan Diss, 2 BB; Kyle Bray, BB.
Record: 11-15