Big League Baseball: Portage, Cedar Lake take wins
By Kevin O’Keefe Post-Tribune correspondent July 9, 2012 11:32PM
Updated: August 11, 2012 6:27AM
PORTAGE — Portage District 1 used the three-arm approach of Travis Marsh, Jon Feliciano and starter and winner Tyler Kinola to down East Hebron out of District 2 by a score of 4-1 in the opening night of the Big League state tournament.
The trio of pitchers limited Hebron to three hits while striking out six, walking two and hitting a batter.
Hebron starter Cody Hayes deserved a better fate. He was perfect through three innings, retiring the first nine batters he faced.
Hebron threatened in the bottom of the first, but a throw home by Marsh — playing second base for Portage at the time — nailed Damon Wallace after Wallace led off the inning with a single.
The top of the fourth was the demise for Hayes as lead-off man John Velez’s slow rolling ground ball was booted into center field for a two-base error. Before the dust cleared, Portage chased Hayes and scored four times. The big blow was a two-run single by C.J. Haupt.
Hebron answered back with a single run in the bottom of the fourth. Kyle Hernandez had a one-out single, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Alex Anderson’s double to left. Hebron could muster only two base runners after that point as Marsh and Feliciano shut the door the rest of the way.
In the early game, Cedar Lake defeated New Albany 13-7. The game featured 14 batters hit by pitch.
“We probably should have scored a lot more runs,” said Cedar Lake coach and St. Joseph College freshman Nick Sambognaro. “We only lost one game this summer — not bad for a team that doesn’t have tryouts. We put this team together at the end of the Hanover (Central) school year.”
