Giertz, Seneca roll past Putnam County

Left-hander’s 10 strikeout, 2-hit effort leads Irish

By CHARLIE ELLERBROCK cellerbrock@shawmedia.com

SENECA – Perfection is a relative thing, but chances are not many attending the Tri-County Conference baseball game between Seneca and Putnam County would have called the 10-3 Fighting Irish victory perfect.

However, after the early-season ups and downs his club has faced, it was a thing of beauty to SHS coach Tim Brungard.

While sophomore left-hander Paxton Giertz came within one out of a two-hit, 10-strikeout complete game before reaching the 105-pitch maximum in the seventh inning, and the Irish smacked 11 hits – five for extra bases – and scored in every inning but the second to come away with the league win.

Against two Panthers pitchers, Calvin Maierhofer collected two doubles and a single and scored three runs, while Giertz, Casey Clennon and Zack Sulzberger each contributed two hits, and Chase Buis chipped in a solo home run to pace the attack that helped Seneca improve to 6-3 overall, 4-2 in the league.

“We were going to give him every chance to finish what he started, but he was running on fumes at the end,” Brungard said, “but for the 6⅔ he went, he was fantastic. He was able to spot all his pitches, got his off-speed over for strikes early, and kept a really good Putnam County offense off-balance. … and Aidan [Vilcek] did a good job finishing up.

“We squared the ball up better today than we have all season, and I’m really proud of the guys for doing that against the best pitcher [Nick Currie] we’ve seen all season, a good pitcher with a lot on his fastball. We also played good situational baseball, bunted well, hit ground balls when we had to with two strikes, went the other way. … This was the most complete baseball game we’ve played all year.”

Currie took the loss for PC (8-8, 4-1), giving up nine hits and seven earned runs in five innings of work, with Blake Billups in relief the final inning.

Maierhofer drove Currie’s first pitch to the top of the left field fence for a double, then scored on a bad throw to first on Kenny Daggett’s sacrifice bunt. Clennon then doubled off the wall in right-center for a 2-0 Irish edge.

A run-scoring hit by Giertz and a sac fly by Clennon in the third made it 4-0 before the Irish added an RBI double by Sulzberger in the fourth.

That was all Giertz needed, although he allowed a run in the third on a walk to Miles Main and an RBI double by Austin Mattingly on which Irish right fielder David Hatz almost made a diving catch.

“I tried to stay in there and finish it, but I was losing it after I hit 100-some pitches. It’s tough, but it’s the win that matters,” Giertz said. “It helped that I had an amazing defense making double plays [in the second] and great catches in the outfield. Great seeing the bats come alive, too.

“Things are starting to come alive. We’re hitting our stride.”

In the fifth, singles by Giertz and Clennon, an outfield error and a sac fly by Nate Othon cleared the bases before Buis clubbed his drive to the train tracks in left for the third run of the frame. Hits by Sulzberger and Maierhofer, a hit batter, a walk, and an error netted two more runs in the home sixth.

Putnam County kept battling and got two off the tiring Giertz in the seventh, one on a long home run to left-center by Jackson McDonald. An RBI single by Billups off Vilcek scored one of Giertz’s walks for the final run of the day.

“Give Seneca credit for putting the bat on the ball. Paxton threw well and gave them a chance to win,” PC coach Chris Newsome said. “Nick wasn’t as sharp on our side. He was living up in the zone where nobody can live. He’s got three solid pitches and has been really good for us his first few starts, but he was just a tick off today.

ABOVE: Putnam County first baseman Jackson McDonald stretches to get Seneca’s Chase Buis on a grounder on Thursday at Seneca High School.

LEFT: Putnam County pitcher Nick Currie delivers a pitch to Seneca on Thursday at Seneca High School.

“It’s just tough, a trickle-down effect when the injury bug bites and guys are playing their second and third positions in the field. Still, there are plays we should make that we didn’t make today.”