Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SOLON – Zach Wegmann has played too much baseball to let a little disappointment get him down.

So, when Wegmann was caught looking at strike three with the bases loaded and his team trailing by four runs in the fourth inning of Monday’s Class 3A District 8 title game the Solon junior didn’t panic.

“Baseball is a game of failure,” Wegmann explained. “The best fail seven out of 10 times.”

Instead of fretting over a missed opportunity Wegman waited for a shot at redemption and when it came the Solon designated hitter seized it.

Wegmann had a go-ahead two-run single in a five-run fifth inning helping Solon score six unanswered runs in a 6-4 win over Central DeWitt at the Solon Nature and Recreation Area.  

“I was in the same situation a couple of innings earlier and left a lot of runners on,” Wegmann said. “It’s important especially when you are sitting on the bench in between those at bats to flush everything and just focus on the next at bat because you can’t change the past.”

Luke Ira blasted a three-run home run in the five-run fifth inning as Solon (27-13) avenged a regular season doubleheader sweep to the Sabers with its ninth straight win.

Solon will host fifth-ranked Marion (30-10) for a trip to the 3A state tournament on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

“We talked at the beginning that we are going to win the game in the fifth, sixth and seventh,” Solon coach Keith McSweeney said. “We got momentum in our dugout with the Ira home run that was obviously a big lift.”

Central DeWitt (25-16) put Solon in an early hole, scoring four runs on five hits against Ira in the first two innings.

Saber starter Garrett Finley cruised through four innings, allowing just two hits and had Solon down to its final eight outs trailing 4-0 in the fifth.

That’s when the game changed.

Back-to-back one-out singles by Jackson Pipolo and Spencer Wegmann chased Finley who was replaced by McGwire Eden and put two runners on for Ira.

The junior shortstop launched a 2-0 fastball from Eden over the scoreboard in left field to cut lead to 4-3.

“2-0 is a pitch where I just think ‘hit the ball hard’ and I got a 2-0 fastball right down the middle,” Ira said. “I knew right away, I think that was my first no-doubter that I’ve ever had.”  

The sixth home run of the season for Ira did more than get Solon on the board it put all the momentum in the Spartan dugout.

“That gave us momentum,” Solon sophomore Ryan Geistkemper said. “That is one of the biggest parts of these games in the momentum so once you get a hold of that you can’t let it go.”

Solon never let that momentum escape.

Tyler Linderbaum reached on an error and singles by Payton Bandy and Kendrick Harris loaded the bases with two out.

Wegmann gave Solon its first lead when he muscled a 3-2 pitch just out of the reach of Central DeWitt shortstop Devin Hurdle and into left field for a two-out, two-run single.

“Full count I was just looking to put the ball in play and I swung and got lucky,” Wegmann said. “We call that the old Wegmann hole back there.”

Linderbaum scored from first and Bandy from second on the bloop hit by Wegmann that put the Spartans up 5-4.

“It was one of those things that he just willed it out there,” McSweeney said. “We were moving on the pitch and the breaks kind of lined up for us on that play. He fought off a good pitch.”

Solon tacked on a run in the sixth when Pipolo doubled and scored on an RBI single by Ira.

That was enough for Solon as the Spartans got five innings of scoreless relief from Geistkemper and Eric Weetman.

Geistkemper gave up two hits and walked three in three 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win.

Weetman walked three but didn’t allow a hit while recording the final five outs to earn the save.

The junior right-hander caught Lucas Bixby looking to end the game with runners on second and third.

“There was something in the dugout and it’s always like this in the postseason, we never quit and we never feel like we are going to lose,” Wegmann said. “We came through tonight and we are feeling good.”

Ira finished 3-for-4 and drove in four runs while raising his season batting average to .522.

Pipolo, Harris and Spencer Wegmann all had two hits as the Spartans finished with 11, all coming in the final four innings.

“I know we live in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings so I was confident,” Ira said. “We came back from a 4-0 deficit when we played Fairfield last year (in the substate final) so we stayed up.”

Solon                           000  051  0  –  6  11  3

Central DeWitt          220  000  0  –  4   7   1

W – Ryan Geistkemper           L – McGwire Eden     SV – Eric Weetman  

2B – SOL: Jackson Pipolo

HR – SOL: Luke Ira