Waterloo steals Freeburg blind
Bold home plate thefts seal win for the Bulldogs
BY NORM SANDERS
News-Democrat
Derik Holtmann/News-Democrat
Freeburg's Josh Bird waits for the ball as Waterloo's Ryan Jacobs safely steals second base during Monday's game.WATERLOO - Waterloo High baseball coach Mark Vogel was desperate Monday, so he reached into his junior-high playbook and pulled out a 6-5 win over Freeburg.
Waterloo stole home twice in the bottom of the seventh -- on back-to-back two-strike, two-out pitches -- and turned what seemed like a sure defeat into an unlikely win.
"The last time we pulled that off was in junior high," said Vogel, who also coaches Waterloo's junior high team. "It was about eight years ago and it was against a left-hander from Freeburg."
This time the victimized Freeburg lefty was Michael Adamson, one of the area's top pitchers and center fielders who is headed for Division I Middle Tennessee State.
Waterloo (3-3) was trailing 5-4, but threatening in the seventh against Freeburg reliever Kevin Bettis. The Bulldogs' first two batters reached safely and were bunted to second and third by Tyler Wetzler.
The hard-throwing Adamson replaced Bettis and walked pinch-hitter Brandon Koenigstein to load the bases.
Adamson blew fastballs by Levi House for the second out. He had a 1-2 count on No. 9 hitter Mike Hopper when Vogel reached into his bag of tricks and flashed the steal sign.
"Michael is such a competitor and is such a good athlete that to be honest, I thought our hitters were overmatched," Vogel explained. "It was our 8-9 hitters and I just didn't think they could catch up to it. With him being left-handed and winding up, if he missed the strike zone ... who practices on a steal of home? We don't."
Pinch-runner Ryan Jacobs broke early for home, Hopper squared around as if to bunt and then pulled back as the ball went sailing to the backstop. Jacobs scored the tying run and the Midgets seemed a bit flustered, wondering if Hopper hadn't offered at the pitch for what would have been strike three.
"I felt he did square around," Freeburg coach Fred Blumberg said, but the home plate umpire asked the base umpire for help and the play was allowed to stand.
On the next pitch, Dylan McNew broke early and stole home as another Adamson pitch sailed to the backstop.
"Once we did it on the first pitch, that's hard to recover from," Vogel said. "Then we thought what the heck, let's try it again. There's a good chance he might come back and throw even harder."
Blumberg said a lack of execution hurt the Midgets (4-3).
"The point is when the runner leaves that early, everybody on our bench and everybody in the field should be yelling 'Step off,'" Blumberg said. "We just didn't execute it very well. Both guys left before he lifted his leg and if you step off, it's no longer a pitch.
"It's just one of those things; the kids got excited I guess."
Adamson was involved in another decisive play in the sixth inning. House was on third with one out representing the potential tying run when he broke for home on Black Novack's fly ball to medium right-center.
Adamson made the catch and got off a laser-like throw that reached Dunnigan in the air at the plate in plenty of time to tag House for the third out.
"Michael might be the only center fielder I've seen all year that can make that play," Vogel said.
The teams combined for eight errors, including five by Waterloo, and there was only one 1-2-3 inning all day.
An RBI single by Brad Dunnigan and Mike Flake's sacrifice fly drove in two runs in the fifth that had Freeburg poised to claim a win.
Chad Halloran added an RBI double for the Midgets and Ryan Rainbolt was 2-for-3. Kyle Kilman had two RBIs.
Greg Floarke was 2-for-4 with a double and RBI for Waterloo and Andrew Fannon and McNew each had run-scoring singles.
Contact reporter Norm Sanders at nsanders@bnd.com or 239-2454.
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/17018654.htm
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Let's just say I watched this play develop the entire time...
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