Published: June 03, 2009 09:27 am      

Minutemen edge Northridge

By GREG KEIM

greg.keim@goshennews.com

Base hits were few and far between, but the Concord Minutemen made the most of the few opportunities they did have.

Concord managed only five hits, but three came in one inning as the Minutemen trimmed the Northridge Raiders, 5-4, in the championship game of a Class 4A sectional Tuesday at Elkhart Memorial.

“I’m proud of these kids,” Concord coach Mike Jackowiak said. “All season long they have been doing what we have asked of them. We kept telling them if they did good things, it would pay off in a big way. Tonight it did.”

Northridge coach Andrew Brabender said, “It wasn’t our night. But our kids battled to the very end.”

It’s Concord’s third sectional title. Others were in 1993 and 1995.

The Minutemen (18-10) advance to the LaPorte regional on Saturday. Concord faces the Chesterton winner in the second game around 2 p.m. (Dunlap time). Winners from Highland and South Bend square off at 11:30.

Winners return for the championship at 8 p.m. (our time).

Concord scored four runs in the top of the third inning for a 5-1 lead.

Junior Jordan Haitsma started things with a single. The next batter, junior Garrett Frey, reached on an error and senior David Yoder loaded the bases with a perfectly-placed bunt single down the third base line.

Junior Kyle Gavin then cleared the bases with a double to straightaway center. Gavin scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch.

Concord ended up winning the game despite not having one of its better night on the pitching mound.

Senior Tyler Haitsma started, lasting 2 1/3 innings before being relieved by classmate Kyle Konarski who hurled the final 4 2/3.

Both allowed only one hit, but combined for seven strikeouts, 11 walks and three hit batters.

“It’s nice that we had each others’ backs,” Jackowiak said. “Haitsma didn’t have his best stuff, but Konarski picked him up and in between times is when we got our bats going.”

Brabender said, “As a hitter it’s hard to get into a groove when pitchers are not around the zone like that.”

Northridge senior Cody Troyer was the hard-luck loser. He went the distance, fanning 11 and walking two. He retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced.

“Troyer pitched a fantastic game,” Brabender said. “We did things that I have never seen us do before. Our errors were the difference in the game.”

Jackowiak said, “Troyer is the best pitcher we have faced all season. He mixes things up and changes speeds well.”

Yoder was the only Concord player with two hits. Besides his bunt single in the third he doubled in the seventh.

Junior Gatlin Rassi had a run-scoring triple in the third and sophomore Garrett Yoder an RBI single in the fifth for Northridge.

The other two Raider runs came on bases-loaded walks by sophomore Cameron Nord in the second and senior Scot Troyer in the third.

Northridge finishes 19-9.