Despite losing six of its first nine games to start the season, the Lindbergh High School baseball team won 10 of its last 11 games to earn a three-way tie with Oakville and Marquette for the Suburban West Conference championship.
The Flyers (13-7, 6-2 Suburban West) tied for the conference championship April 30 with a 10-3 win at Lafayette.
“We thought going into the season that we had some components for a team that could be very competitive,” Lindbergh head coach Darin Scott said. “We just started winning games and low and behold, strung nine wins together.”
Starting pitcher Andy Flett grabbed his fourth win of the season with a six-hit performance, giving up three runs in seven innings. Flett also walked three batters while striking out four to up his record to 4-2 overall with a 4.51 ERA.
The Flyers took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Terry Maness jacked a three-run homer for his first home run of the season. Maness is batting a stout .382 with a league-leading 24 RBI.
“Terry has really been breaking through for us,” Scott said. “We’ve been doing a good job at getting guys on base, but we tend to not always be able to drive them in. But we continually can count on him to get the big hits for us. He has a nice batting eye and is a guy that really waits for his pitch.”
Lindbergh’s Garth Sherman nailed down his second homer of the season immediately after Maness, giving the Flyers a commanding 4-0 lead. Sherman is batting .348 with a team-leading two triples, two home runs and 20 RBI.
“Garth’s been our DH (designated hitter) for most of the year and that home run really jumped us out to a nice 4-0 lead,” Scott said. “He’s a streaky hitter, but once he gets on a roll, he’s tough to keep off base.”
On Friday afternoon, Oakville (16-5, 6-2 Suburban West) avenged a 13-12 loss to Seckman earlier in the season with a 3-2 win over the Jaguars in pool play of the Suburban South/West Conference Tournament.
“A lot of stuff had to happen for us to have a chance to win the conference championship,” Oakville head coach Rich Sturm said. “We play in a great conference and there’s a lot of quality teams you have to play against. To win six of eight in this conference is quite an accomplishment.”
Starting pitcher Drew Stanton received the no-decision after giving just two runs on seven hits in four innings pitched.
“Considering Drew hadn’t thrown in four weeks, he went out there and gave us a chance to win, which is all you can ask from him,” Sturm said. “Whenever you can limit Seckman to just two runs, it says a lot about your pitching staff.”
Bryan Doyle grabbed the win with a two-hit performance over three innings as he walked one batter and struck out two.
“Bryan’s been great coming out of the bullpen,” Sturm said. “Since I’ve been head coach, we haven’t had anyone as good as him coming out of the bullpen. He’s given up just two earned runs in 19 innings of relief.”
Oakville right fielder Zach Will received the game ball with a two-hit performance that also included one run scored. Will is batting .391 with three runs batted in.
“As the season goes on, Zach’s getting more and more playing time,” Sturm said. “He’s been playing solid, which makes it difficult for anyone to take him out of the lineup. We’re really excited and proud about the way he’s played this season.”
The Tigers were slated to play Lafayette Monday and Rockwood Summit Tuesday in pool play of the Suburban South/West Conference Tournament — after the Call went to press.
The Flyers are back in action Wednesday when they play host to Parkway North in pool play in the Suburban South/West Conference Tournament.
