A 2nd story on our win

CC outduels Wisconsin baseball champions

By Nathan Baird:

Even in a matchup of defending state champions, pitchers are ahead of hitters at this stage of the baseball season.

Class A No. 1 Central Catholic and Burlington (Wis.) Catholic Central pitchers combined to strike out 21 batters on Saturday at Leming Field.

The Knights scratched across an unearned run in the first inning, and Austin Munn, Andrew Hubertz and Brett Haan made it hold up for a 1-0 victory.

"We haven't gotten too many live at-bats, so we kind of knew we were going to be slow, but I don't think we knew we were going to be this slow," said Haan, who also batted sixth and played right field. "But luckily we pushed that one across early and that's all we needed."

CC only played half of its scrimmage at Brebeuf on March 23 before getting rained out. The Knights faced full-speed live pitching only one other time this spring.

Burlington Catholic Central pitchers Rex Morrow and Tyler Floyd combined on a four-hitter and struck out eight. A total of 15 batters struck out looking.

"It was a good game," Hilltoppers coach Tom O'Connell said. "Both teams have a lot to work on. I'm not disappointed. Our pitchers did very well."

CC's Jake Churchill reached on an infield single leading off the bottom of the first. He took second on a wild pitch and scored when second baseman Brandon Hoffman misplayed Cody Schrader's grounder.

Munn allowed two hits and struck out seven in 32/3 innings. But he also walked six, hit a batter and threw three wild pitches. The Hilltoppers failed to take advantage, stranding eight runners in the first four innings.

Hubertz needed one pitch to get out of a two-on, two-out jam in the fourth. Haan (1-0) struck out six over three innings of hitless relief.

"Brett did a great job coming in and slamming the door and not allowing them anything," Bordenet said. "Give Hubertz credit; he came in with the game on the line, one pitch-one out, and got us out of the jam."

Burlington Central Catholic, located about an hour north of Chicago, has an enrollment of about 140. O'Connell saw in a newsletter last summer that CC, like his team, had won four state titles in the past seven seasons. He emailed Bordenet, and the two met at a coaches clinic in Nashville last December.

Several Burlington Central Catholic players stayed behind to participate in the school musical, which O'Connell said raises tens of thousands of dollars.

"It's pretty cool that they're the exact mirror image of us and they come down here and wanted to play us," Haan said. "It was just a good duel."