Steve Sneddon
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/15/2004
Drew Johnson has a keen sense of timing and flair for the dramatic — not just for the fact that he hit a game-winning grand slam in the top of the seventh inning.
Pitching for the first time in 11 months, he pitched two innings of relief and picked up the victory in Reno High’s 6-5 win over Reed in the Northern 4A Regional Baseball Championship at Ron McNutt Field in Carson City on Saturday.
Both Reno and Reed advance to the 4A State T
ournament, which begins Thursday at McNutt Field, but the Huskies’ win capped a brilliant week as they won five games in a row after losing to McQueen, 4-3, in a first-round game Wednesday. Reno, which had routed the Lancers, 15-2, Friday night, needed to beat McQueen again to get into the state tournament and slammed the Lancers, 11-1, in Saturday’s first game.
“I was proud of our senior leadership,” said Reno coach Pete Savage. “Obviously, Drew Johnson came up big. He’s a big-time player.
“Our kids showed a lot of confidence when we were down 4-2 (in the seventh). Let’s face it, guys, Reed is a good team, too. Baseball is a momentum game. I’m real proud. The kids lost the first game (Wednesday), stuck together and came back.”
Reed brought in closer Brad Hurn at the begininning of the seventh to protect the 4-2 lead. Hurn gave up an infield single to pinch-hitter Mike Hellen, a single by Jake Johnson just out of the reach of the shortstop and a walk to John Wallace to load the bases with one out.
Drew Johnson, who will play for the Nevada Wolf Pack next season, powered Hurn’s 2-1 pitch over the right-field fence to give Reno the 6-4 lead. As the ball easily cleared the fence, Reed right-fielder Neil Saiz threw his glove to the warning track in disappointment.
“It (the pitch) was around the belt. I found the sweet spot on the bat,” Johnson said. “Thankfully, it left the park.”
Johnson then went to the mound to protect the lead and gave up a one-out, run-scoring single to Ryan Hill that brought home Robert Woodruff, who had led off the bottom of the seventh with a double. Johnson retired Mickey Lang, who flied out to the left field warning track, and then got Saiz, who went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs in the game, on a called third strike to end the game.
Johnson threw in the bullpen last week in preparation for the posibility that he might pitch. That became a likelihood as Reno pitchers reached the 11-inning limit for the week.
“I guess I thought it was my turn (to pitch). We had guys going on one day’s rest,” said Johnson, who had stopped pitching last June because of a strained arm. “I have a phenomenal defense behind me. Our defense has been nails.”
Johnson has pitched for Reno High for three years, but Savage made the decision when he was coaching the Reno Knights summer team last June to have Johnson concentrate on playing center field.
“He’s a five-tool player, so we wanted him to concentrate on playing,” Savage said. “He’s a great team guy. He wanted the ball (to pitch Saturday).”
Reno ran its record to 33-5 with the two wins Saturday. The Raiders, 26-10, felt the sting of the dramatic regional loss, but they were consoled by the fact Reed is going to a state tournament for the first time since 1996.
“It (the loss) wasn’t one thing,” said Reed assistant coach Steve Schnegelberger, who ran the team in the absence of head coach Jon Foss. “We booted the ball a little earlier. You have to give them (the Huskies) credit. They battled.
“The kid (Johnson) came up with a big hit. What can you do? Good game. That’s what we’re out here for, a good game like this.”
Foss missed the Raiders’ last three games in the regional because he committed before the season started to be the best man at his best friend’s wedding in Denver.
“I don’t think it (the title game loss) affects us too much,” Schnegelberger said. “But we wanted to win this game. The kids are disappointed. I think we’ll be fine bouncing back. We’re a good ballclub.
“(Hurn) just got the ball up and the kid hit it well. Give Pete Savage a lot of credit. He’s done it for a number of years and he did it this year.”
The Huskies loaded the bases twice in the first four innings, but only had two runs to show for it. They loaded the bases in the first inning off Reed starter Jake McGee, who limited the damage by getting Steve Mays to ground into a double play that scored a run. After Kyle Bertelson’s groundout scored Mike Lienert in the second inning, the Huskies loaded the bases again in the fourth, but McGee escaped without allowing a run as he got Procter Hug to line into a double play.
In the third, the Raiders had taken a 3-2 lead when Lang’s single up the middle almost hit Reno starting pitcher Chris Rickey to bring home Zack May, and Saiz’s single scored Ryan Lammle and Ryan Hill. The Raiders added an insurance run in the sixth, Saiz’s homer to left, for the 4-2 lead.
RENO 11, MCQUEEN 1: Starting pitcher Jeff Schoenbachler got the Huskies off to a good start by shutting out the Lancers on three hits before having to leave because of the 11-inning rule with a 5-0 lead.
The Huskies jumped on McQueen starter Dan Grubb, who took the loss, for three runs in the second inning. Ryan Simpson led off with a double and scored on Davis Banks’ double to right-center. After Bertelson walked, Hug doubled down the right-field line to score Banks and Bertelson.
The Lancers, who only had three seniors, finished the season with an 11-22 record after winning their first two games in the regional.
“We gave it a good fight,” said McQueen coach Brian Nelson. “Unfortunately, we just came up a little short.
“It’s some confidence we can build on. We have a lot of young kids who saw what playoff atmopshere is all about.”