| REGISTER TO WIN | |
 |
Blue Valley baseball coach Matt Ortman has preached to his players the importance of responding after the other team scores.
Turns out the Tigers listened when it mattered the most. After falling behind by two runs in the fourth inning of their regional final against Shawnee Mission East on Wednesday, the Tigers responded with a four-run inning and never looked back in a 5-3 victory at Blue Valley West.
The victory sends Blue Valley to the 6A state tournament for the first time since 2001.
“I talked to them about responding, and they went right in and did it,” Ortman said. “We’ve been doing a good job of that all year.”
The game started as a pitchers’ duel, with neither team scoring in the first three innings. But things quickly picked up in the top of the fourth inning when the Lancers scored runs on RBIs by Scott Kennedy and Chad Zeller.
But Blue Valley, heeding the words of its coach, got right to work. After a leadoff double and a walk, shortstop J.P. LaMunyon hit a double to center field off Lancers starter Jeff Soptic that drove in both runs.
LaMunyon came home when the throw from the outfield got past the third baseman. The Tigers tacked on another run on an RBI double by Mitch Meyer, making the score 4-2.
Shawnee Mission East scored a run in the fifth inning, closing the gap to one, but the Lancers wouldn’t score again. The Tigers brought in senior Nate Kerkhoff — who won the Tigers’ first-round game earlier in the day— to relieve starter Tyler VanGerpen, who got the win, in the top of the sixth inning.
Kerkhoff promptly sat down the Lancers 1-2-3, and after the Tigers added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth, Kerkhoff pitched a scoreless seventh for his first save of the season.
The win sends the Tigers to the 6A state tournament, which starts May 23 in Topeka. It also avenges the Tigers’ loss to the Lancers in the regional finals in 2006.
Join the discussion
Share your observations and experiences about news. Lively, open debate is the goal, but please refrain from personal attacks or comments that are racist, vulgar or otherwise inappropriate. If you see an inappropriate comment, please click the "Report as violation" link to notify a KansasCity.com editor. Thanks for your feedback.