As soon as Park Tudor pitcher Miles Dubie started his windup, University junior Oliver Kingery made a break for second base.
With Saturday’s Class 2A Sectional 42 semifinal game tied in the bottom of the sixth, getting the extra 90 feet and moving into scoring position increased University’s chances of winning exponentially.
The Trailblazers had a steal called, but they expected Dubie to pitch from the stretch, a quicker delivery to the plate that gives his catcher a better chance at throwing out the runner. Dubie’s windup signaled Kingery to take off, while batter Beckett Suh knew to take the pitch so his teammate could easily swipe the bag.
Taking the pitch put Suh in a 1-2 hole, forcing him to simplify his approach and focus on making contact.
“After (Oliver) stole second base, I knew my job was to get a single. A single to the right side,” Suh said. “I knew Oli was our fastest player, most stolen bases, so I just had to do my job.”
Kingery did his part by getting to second, and Suh executed the gameplan, driving a single to right field, allowing Kingery to score. The Panthers threatened in the top of the seventh, but Finn Steiner closed out the game, stranding two runners on base and sending University to a 4-3 victory at Park Tudor.
“It was huge heads-up baseball,” University coach Chris Estep said of Kingery. “I thought they were going to walk Beckett once we got the runner to second and had an open base. They chose to pitch to him, and he was able to deliver.”
The Trailblazers (19-10) relied on Suh, a Tulane commit, to come through at the plate all season. The left-handed hitting shortstop leads the team in batting average (.570), runs scored (39), RBIs (45), doubles (15), home runs (seven) and triples (three). Suh went 3-for-4 with one double and one run scored. Kingery went 1-for-3 with two runs scored. David Gasper and Steiner added RBI singles.
Park Tudor (18-7) took an early lead on Desmond Francis’ opposite field home run in the first. The Panthers added two more in the first before Cooper Cammack, Caleb Stocker and Steiner combined for four scoreless innings. Francis, a Notre Dame commit finished 2-for-3. Jack Clark added two hits and one run scored.
“It was fun. We had a really good year,” Park Tudor utility player Dominic Gasper said. “We beat University earlier in the season. We beat Brebeuf on Desmond Francis’ walk-off home run. That was probably the coolest I’ve seen all year. It’s been a fun season, and we’ve won some fun games.”
University will play Monrovia – a 10-9 winner over Covenant Christian in Saturday’s second semifinal – for the sectional championship on Monday at 6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Beckett Suh’s clutch hitting leads University to sectional win over Park Tudor
Reporting by Akeem Glaspie, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
