4A Sectional 4: Peebles Tosses Shutout to Help Goshen Win Sectional Opener

May 26, 2017

By Steve Krah

PBR Indiana Correspondent

ELKHART — Joey Peebles efficiently recorded 21 outs and helped Goshen High School win for the 21st time of the 2017 baseball season.

Peebles, a junior right-hander, tossed a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts and two walks as the RedHawks beat Concord 1-0 Thursday, May 25 in the first game of the IHSAA Class 4A Elkhart Sectional.

After running sprints with pitching coach Aaron Keister, Peebles (5-3) talked about his second shutout of ’17.

“(The key) was my defense,” Peebles said. “I definitely made some pitches that they hit hard my defense made some tough plays out there.”

Goshen turned a double play — junior second baseman Will Koshmider to shortstop Pinarski to junior first baseman Tyler Colpitts—to close out the Minutemen half of the second inning

“I’m pretty sure a run would have scored because there were runners at first and third,” Peebles said.

Senior Jocco Iavagnilio led off the Concord sixth with a walk. He was thrown out trying to steal with catcher Wertz making the throw and shortstop Pinarski the snap tag.

Peebles struck out all three Minutemen hitters he saw in the bottom of the seventh to help the RedHawks top their Northern Lakes Conference rivals for the third time this spring (regular-season scores were 8-1 and 10-7).

What was working best for Peebles?

“My curveball,” Peebles said. “It was going down pretty hard. I went with fastballs more in the first inning, but then I switched it up.”

Peebles mixed curves, fast ones and sliders and gave up three singles in the first three innings (two to senior Quinn Miller and one to senior Jake Diver).

“Joey’s been a guy all year that’s fed off momentum,” Goshen head coach Josh Keister said. “He got some momentum early, especially when we turned that double play, and that got him rolling.

“He was really efficient tonight as well. He was getting ahead of a lot of hitters.”

Peebles whiffed seven of the first 15 Minutemen he faced while Lietzan struck out eight of the first 15 RedHawks.

“We were working in and out a lot,” Concord coach Eric Nielsen said of Lietzan, who finished the game right at the 120-pitch limit. “As soon as we started establishing the inside half of the plate that allowed us to throw off-speed away and work on our fastball. Without the inner half of the plate, hitters start taking advantage of that.”

Goshen scored the game’s only run in the top of the first inning.

Junior Philip Wertz led off with a double to right field off Minutemen junior left-hander Jack Lietzan (2-4; 7 innings, 1 runs, 2 hits, 12 strikeouts, 4 walks). Senior Charlie Collins’ sacrifice bunt pushed Wertz to third base. senior Michael Pinarski’s groundout plated Wertz.

The RedHawks stranded runners at first and second base in the sixth inning. After Lietzan retired six straight batters, he walked Wertz and Collins only to set down the next three and end the threat.

Goshen (21-8) meets Penn in the semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 27at Elkhart Memorial’s Charger Field while Concord finishes a 5-21.

Two games are slated for Friday, May 26 that will determined spots in Saturday’s second semifinal —Memorial vs. Northridge at 5 p.m., followed by Warsaw against Elkhart Central.

The championship is slated for 11 a.m. Monday, May 29.