Kansas 6A baseball state quarterfinals: SM Northwest shuts out Wichita Northwest
Shawnee Mission Northwest coach Domenic Mussat said he could tell from the look on his pitcher’s face that the Cougars would not have much of a struggle in their Kansas Class 6A state quarterfinal game.
Brandon Gomer, who is headed to the University of Evansville, twirled a two-hit complete game shutout to lead SM Northwest to a 7-0 victory against Wichita Northwest at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence.
“He got on top,” Mussat said. “You saw his first-pitch fastball was right there and in the later innings they started to press and try to hit the first pitch. It didn’t work out for them and it worked out on our side.”
Of course, it helped that the offense was feeling it too.
The Cougars took an early lead on a bases-loaded walk and did not look back. They combined for 11 hits and capitalized on three errors.
SM Northwest, which improved to 18-5, will face top-seeded Sunflower League foe SM East at 10 a.m. for a spot in the championship game.
| Kathleen Gier, kgier@kcstar.com
Shawnee Mission East 5, Junction City 4
Though he is just a sophomore, the Shawnee Mission East baseball team had no qualms about handing the ball to Zeb Vermillion in the biggest game of its season so far.
He delivered by only allowing two earned runs with seven strikeouts in a 5-4 victory against Junction City in the Kansas Class 6A state semifinals at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence.
“He plays basketball, too, so he’s been in big situations,” Lancers coach Jerrod Ryherd said. “He’s already a great player for us, but he is going to be phenomenal for us. We knew he could go out there and get the job done.”
Vermillion worked out of a jam with runners on second and third and no outs with three straight strikeouts in the second inning. It allowed the Lancers to take their first lead on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly.
Charley White led the offense with two hits and three runs in two at-bats. He also drew one walk.
| Kathleen Gier, kgier@kcstar.com
Lawrence Free State 4, Haysville Campus 0
When Lawrence Free State senior catcher Jonathan Saathoff belted a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth for his third RBI of the game, it was all junior pitcher Hunter Gudde needed.
Gudde tossed a two-hit shutout, helping Free State to a 4-0 victory over Haysville Campus on Thursday afternoon at the Kansas 6A state baseball tournament at Hoglund Ballpark.
“He has been consistent all season,” Saathoff said of Gudde. “He kept the ball low and got ground balls.”
The win puts the Firebirds, 19-4, in the semifinals, which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Lawrence Free State took a 1-0 lead in the third on a two-out single by Saathoff.
“It put us ahead and gave the team more confidence,” Saathoff said.
The Firebirds broke the game open in the fifth.
It started with a leadoff single by No. 9 hitter Marcelino Cortez. Zion Bowlin followed with a sacrifice bunt and senior Joel Spain singled in Cortez, making it 2-0. And then Saathoff put the game away with his double.
“There is a reason we leave him in the four hole. He is a good hitter,” Free State coach Mike Hill said. “We have all the faith in the world in him. It is the kid we want up. He hit some balls well.”
| David Boyce, Special to The Star
Olathe South 8, Derby 5, 11 innings
Olathe South overcame unimaginable adversity in the bottom of the first inning and two runs in the bottom of the seventh and beat Derby 8-5 in 11 innings Thursday in the Kansas 6A state tournament at Hoglund Ballpark.
A two-run single with two outs by Keaton Sullentrop in the top of the 11th helped lift Olathe South to the win.
“This was a dream come true,” Sullentrop said. “It is hard to explain. I had a lot of nerves. It wasn’t the prettiest hit, but we won and that is all that matters.”
It was Sullentrop’s first varsity hit. He also picked up the win for pitching the final 4 1/3 innings
Ironically, Sullentrop was batting in the spot where senior pitcher Isaiah Campbell started the game.
“It was by far the biggest hit we had so far this year,” Olathe South coach Josh Perkins said. “There is one thing that we can do and that is to compete. And he was the epitome of that.”
Campbell left the game in the bottom of the first when the first batter he faced lined the ball off his right pitching arm. Campbell walked a few steps off the mound and then tumbled to the field in pain.
The Falcons lost their pitcher, who is headed to Arkansas on baseball scholarship, and a key bat. Campbell suffered a deep bruise right on the outside of his elbow.
“I was watching some of the game in the hospital,” said Campbell, who was able to make it back to the stadium before the game ended. “I am so proud of this team.”
Junior Max Storch replaced Campbell on the mound and in the batting order.
Olathe South took a 2-0 lead in the third on a RBI triple by senior Noah Craft and a RBI single by junior Brian Sullivan and pushed its lead to 5-1 thanks to three unearned runs in the top of the fifth.
| David Boyce, Special to The Star
This story was originally published May 28, 2015 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Kansas 6A baseball state quarterfinals: SM Northwest shuts out Wichita Northwest."