Bremen Athletics

Bremen and Knox squared off Friday evening in the second round of sectional #34, with the winner advancing to the title game on Monday. The Lions found themselves trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the 4th, but managed a signature comeback behind a cluth pitching performance in relief from junior Casey Ton. C Zack Rouch hit his second home run of the tournament and also had the eventual game winning RBI in the 6th inning. Aiden Alvarado blasted a solo home run on a 2-2 count in the 6th to spark a five run rally. Bremen and Jimtown will square off in the sectional championship on Monday at 7pm. Knox opened the game getting their leadoff man on, around, and in on a sac fly to make it 1-0. From there, neither team could muster anything as the Redskins' starting pitcher and Lions' hurler Zack Buszkiewicz both worked quickly and induced weak contact. Knox threw a punch in the fourth, rapping out three hits in a row after a leadoff walk to make it 3-0. Ton came on in relief, and after a two run single pushed it to 5-0, was able to get the next two outs and stop the bleeding. Facing the 5-0 hole and with zero hits to that point, Bremen's offense regrouped and got the leadoff man on when Jace Pippenger reached on an error. Rouch came to the plate and ripped a two run home run - his second of the tournament and fourth of the season - trimming the Knox lead to 5-2. Bremen was able to walk the bases loaded with one out, but struck out and popped out to stifle the rally. Ton, however, seized the moment and worked a 1-2-3 top of the 5th, striking out two and getting Bremen back up to bat. The Lions got two more runners on in the 5th, but again went strike out, pop out, keeping the score at 5-2 Redskins heading into the 6th. Knox got the first two men on, but Rouch picked one off first, Ton got the next to pop out, and escaped the jam on a ground out to third baseman Max Barnes. Trailing by three with only six more outs to work with, the Lions pulled off a remarkable five run rally. Shortstop Aiden Alvarado led off the bottom of the 6th with a solo home run in a 2-2 count, re-igniting the Bremen bench and crowd. Corban Van Vuren drew a one out walk, stole second, and came around to score on a two strike double down the line from Jack Wildauer. Landon Bates singled to left and advanced to second, but Wildauer was cut down at the plate on a close play, keeping the game at 5-4 Knox with two outs in the sixth. However, the leadoff man Jace Pippenger rifled a clutch single to center to even the game, and Rouch dropped a double down the left field line to bring him in and give Bremen a 6-5 lead. JJ Cencelewski followed with an RBI single to right, scoring courtesy runner Maddux Hickman and making it 7-5. Ton took the hill in the 7th looking to close out the win, with the top of Knox's lineup looming. He got the first man to strike out, induced a 1-3 forceout to the second batter, and retired the third hitter on a ground out to third base. The 7-5 victory sends Bremen to Monday's sectional championship against conference foe Jimtown, with first pitch scheduled for 7:00pm. Thank you to the entire Bremen school/sports community for your support of the players and investment in the team. We hope to see and hear everyone at Booster Field on Monday night where the Lions will take on a raucous Jimtown squad in the title game. Friday, May 29th - Sectional Semi-Final Bremen 7 Knox 5 Hitters C Zack Rouch: 2-3, 2B, HR, R, 3 RBI, BB 2B Jace Pippenger: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, SB SS Aiden Alvarado: 1-2, HR, R, RBI, BB, SB Pitchers SP/DH Zack Buszkiewicz: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 2 K // 0-3, BB, 2 SB RP Casey Ton: 4.0 IP, W, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K