Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

Season opens with Elkhart Memorial winning 20-9 at Jimtown

March 28, 2017



By Steve Krah
PBR Indiana Correspondent



JIMTOWN — Elkhart Memorial rang in the 2017 Indiana high school season with an offensive outburst and a road victory. 

Senior left-hander Matt Kloss (1-0; 3 2/3 innings, 7 runs, 7 hits, 7 strikeouts, 4 walks) was the winning pitcher and drove in five runs and junior Nolan Grose scored four runs as the Crimson Chargers notched a 20-9, six-inning victory Monday, March 27 in the drizzle at Jimtown’s Booster Field. 

Scott Rost, in his 15th season as Memorial head coach, saw his team perform in clutch offensive situations. 

“I really liked our approach with runners in scoring position,” Rost said. “It’s something we’ve been focusing on. It’s something we weren’t very good at the past couple of years. Overall, offensively we were pretty solid.” 

A first-pitch three-run home run off Kloss’ bat in the top of the third inning helped put Memorial ahead 6-2. He pulled the ball over the right field wall to score senior Brett Wilson (double to left field) and junior Jordan Siddons (on base by error).  

The Chargers’ first of four runs in the third was scored by Grose, who reached on an infield single and later scored on an error. 

The score was 6-3 after the Jimmies got a two-out run in the bottom of the third frame. Senior Nate Swann smacked a one-out single to left field. After the second out, junior Dillon Heintzberger’s single to right knocked Swann in from second base. 

Memorial pushed its advantage to 10-3 with four runs in the fourth inning. Runs batted in were produced by Siddons (double to left field), Kloss (groundout) and junior Braden Baer (two-run single to left). 

The Jimmies cut the gap to 10-8 by sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring five two-out runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Swann bashed a two-run double to right, Whitman and Dalton Heintzberger both had RBI infield singles and another run scored on a wild pitch for Jimtown. 

The Chargers scored two runs in the fifth inning without a hit. Lee (hit by pitch) and Grose (walk) both reached base and wound up scoring on wild pitches by put the visitors ahead 12-8. 

An eight-run sixth inning for Memorial got started when Kloss and senior Sam Wruble draw walks and both score on an error.  

Baer was struck by a pitch and came around to score on a fielder’s choice put in play by Walter. 

A two-run single to center field by Grose knocked in Melendez (on by error) and Walter. 

Kloss followed with an RBI single and Wruble a two-run single. 

Jimtown scored its final run in the sixth inning. Whitman led off with a single to left and later scored on an error. 

“We came up to the plate with a pretty good approach, especially early,” fourth-year Jimmies coach Darin Mast said. “We put the ball in play and they kicked it around a couple times.  

“Last year we didn’t make people pay for their mistakes. Tonight, we at least did that.” 

Memorial scored the first two runs of the season with two outs in the top of the second inning. 

No. 9 batter Landon Lee drove the first pitch he saw in the top of the second inning to deep center field for a two-run double. The sophomore right-handed swinger’s two-bagger of senior lefty Clay Whitman plated Baer (walk) and junior Brad Melendez (hit by pitch). 

Jimtown pulled even at 2-2 with a pair of two-out runs of its own in the bottom of the second frame. 

Seniors Dalton Heintzberger and Zach Hill both walked. A sacrifice bunt by sophomore Cameron Zellers pushed the runners to third and second base, respectively. 

Heintzberger and Hill scored when senior Dakotah Pratt hit a slow roller to short and the throw was errant. 

Rost said he was looking for a little longer mound outing from Kloss. 

“He just needs to be more efficient,” Rost said. “They weren’t squaring him up. He probably could have been a little more aggressive in the (strike) zone. But overall, it’s a decent start for him.” 

Senior right-hander Bailey Joy (2 1/3 innings, 1 runs, 0 hits, 2 strikeouts, 0 walks) and junior left-hander Dylan Pressler (1 inning, 1 runs, 1 hits, 1 strikeout, 1 walks) shared the rest of the pitching duties for Memorial. 

Left-hander Whitman (0-1; 3 1/3 innings, 9 runs, 7 hits, 2 strikeouts, 3 walks) started on the mound and absorbed the loss for the Jimmies.  

Whitman was relieved by right-hander Zellers (1 1/3 innings, 3 runs, 1 hit, 0 strikeouts, 3 walks) with one out in the fourth inning. 

Dalton Heintzberger (2/3 innings, 7 runs, 1 hit, 1 strikeout, 2 walks) relieved for Jimtown with two outs in the fifth. 

Right-hander Swann (2/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, 0 strikeouts, 1 walk) took his turn on the bump for the Jimmies with one out in the sixth. 

Memorial (which went 10-18 in 2016) visits Portage Tuesday, March 28. Jimtown (4-15 in 2016) goes to Westview Thursday, March 30. 

Related News