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Cloverdale season comes to an end against Covenant Christian
LOOGOOTEE – Mistakes made sometimes in the regular season are sometimes punished, sometimes not and often times something to learn from.
Mistakes made in the postseason are often fatal and, against a team like Covenant Christian that likely didn’t need an assist, Cloverdale could ill-afford to make many in Saturday’s IHSAA Loogootee Baseball Regional.
The Clovers made a few errors early and by the time the second inning finished were already trailing 7-0, eventually falling to the Warriors 13-1 in five innings.
“That didn’t go as planned,” Cloverdale head coach Charlie Lee said. “That’s a really good baseball team right there.
“(Covenant Christian) hit the ball really well and the pitching was really good, too.”
After a strikeout to open the game, Nathan Jones tripled to put immediate pressure on Drake Hoffa with Brad Nardi bringing in the first run of the game with a single.
A walk and groundout from Jameson Laughlin made it 2-0 before an error allowed a third run in to give Covenant Christian a 3-0 lead after half an inning.
Cloverdale went down in order in the bottom of the first, but two fly balls seemed to have the Clovers on track to get back on offense.
A single and error set up Jones to plate a run with a base hit before a ground rule double from Nardi put runners on second and third.
A liner to right was misplayed, allowing both runners to score before Laughlin singled to make it 7-0.
“We played well defensively but we had three or four mistakes and when they happened, (Covenant Christian) took advantage of them,” Lee said. “That’s what good baseball teams do.”
Cloverdale would get its sole run in the bottom of the third inning after Landon Duncan notched the team’s first hit of the game and stole second.
Levi Hilton singled with an error off the hit allowing Duncan to come in to make it 7-1.
Covenant Christian answered with four runs in the fourth as Nolan Moore led off the inning with a walk off Layton Allen, who had replaced Hoffa on the mound in the second inning.
Jones doubled and Nardi grounded out to push a run across to make it 8-1.
Ethan Kimmerle drew a walk before Laughlin singled in a run and a fourth error in the game for Cloverdale allowed two more runs to score as the Warriors hit the 10-run gap at 11-1.
The Clovers proceeded to load the bases as Corey Branigan led off the bottom of the inning with a double before Ben Campbell and Jayden Sturges drew walks.
Allen hit a shallow fly ball that was caught with Branigan thrown out going for home and Caiden Watts grounding out, leaving Cloverdale empty-handed in the frame.
“That was my fault,” Lee said about sending the runner on the fly ball. “I have to learn from those mistakes.”
Jones doubled and Nardi singled to tack on a run each while the Clovers went to the bench to get reserves a chance to take swings at Nardi, who came in for Kimmerle on the mound in the final inning to close things out.
Cloverdale finishes the season 8-14, a three-win improvement from 2022 and two more wins than the prior two seasons combined, and broke a nearly four-decade long postseason drought with a win in the Parke Heritage Sectional.
“It was a phenomenal season,” Lee said. “The growth that we had from last year to this year was great, even if people will look at the record and see we only won eight games.
“We were in five or six other games and those games, where we were losing by two or three runs, really helped us, especially in the sectional because we knew we could do some things if we put the bat on the ball. That’s what we eventually did. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do that today but that’s baseball.”
Covenant Christian 340 42 — 13 11 0
Cloverdale 001 00 — 1 3 4
WP — Kimmerle 4 IP, 3 H, R, 2 BB, 4 K
LP — Hoffa 1 2/3 IP, 6 H, 7 R (3 ER), BB, K
3B — Jones
2B — Jones (2), Nardi; Branigan
RBI — Laughlin (3), Nardi (3), Jones (2), Anderson (2)