BV Southwest near pitch perfect in 5A title run

State baseball tournaments are often battles of attrition. Winning three games in two days requires pitching depth that even the best teams can’t always muster.

Blue Valley Southwest and Topeka Seaman operated against that theory on Friday, as BV Southwest captured the Class 5A championship with a 2-1 win at Eck Stadium.

BV Southwest managed two hits against Seaman left-hander Turner Middendorf, who surrendered a pair of unearned runs in the fifth inning. BV Southwest, which opened in 2010, earned its first boys state championship behind the efforts of sophomore right-hander Tanner Howe.

Seaman scored against Howe in the first, then threatened often but failed to score. BV Southwest ace, Miller Hogan, earned the save by striking out the side on 13 pitches in the seventh.

“Tanner has been one of our better guys all year,” said BV Southwest coach Rick Sabath. “Doesn’t throw hard, but he really commands his stuff. He’s very poised. I thought the Seaman guy pitched exceptionally well, too.”

Seaman left runners in scoring position in three of the first five innings, opening the door for a game-changing rally from BV Southwest that didn’t require much offense.

The only hit in BV Southwest’s fifth inning was Andrew Gillett’s one-out single. The Timberwolves moved around the bases on three Seaman errors, scoring the tiebreaker when Brad Piel dropped a fly ball to center field.

That was enough for BV Southwest’s pitchers, as the Timberwolves allowed only four runs during the tournament. Howe pitched around a leadoff hit-by-pitch in the sixth before Hogan, a St. Louis signee who pitched a shutout in Thursday’s quarterfinals, blew away three straight batters.

“Obviously, it was a little bit of pressure,” said Howe, who typically closes games for BV Southwest. “But that just makes it better when you succeed.”

BV West 13, Maize South 3

BV West captured third place by scoring in every inning, capping a five-inning, run-rule victory with four runs in the fifth.

Six of the first nine batters either recorded a hit or a walk for BV West, and the Jaguars never slowed down after taking a 3-0 lead into the third inning. They added three runs in the third on a two-run double from Tyler Barnes and an RBI single by Sam Davis.

Jackson Layton and Tyler Cox each had a pair of RBIs for BV West, which rebounded from a semifinal loss to Seaman. Every Jaguars starter either scored a run or drove one in, and six players did both.

Hunter Saulsbury shut out Maize South for four innings before giving way to Ryan Kauss. Saulsbury threw 33 pitches, 97 fewer than the 130 that four Maize South pitchers needed to record 15 outs.

Topeka Seaman 6, BV West 1

Seaman scored five runs in the fourth to break a 1-1 tie. The inning was aided by a bunt single, a hit batter, a BV West error and a leadoff walk. All of those plays led to runs.

David Lucero pitched a complete game for Seaman, surrendering three singles after BV West scored in the third.

BV Southwest broke the game open with four runs in the top of the fourth to go ahead 5-0. The Jaguars gained momentum when they threw out Drake Bliss following his triple to lead off the bottom of the first.

Andrew Gillett, Miller Hogan and Austin Hoegerl each recorded a double for BV Southwest.

This story was originally published May 29, 2015 at 8:32 PM with the headline "BV Southwest near pitch perfect in 5A title run."