Senators take care of business in baseball sectional

VALPARAISO | Don't mention the "R" word to Washington Township baseball coach Randy Roberts.

His Senators, ranked No. 7 in the state by the Indiana High Baseball Coaches Association, beat Covenant Christian 22-2 in five innings Wednesday in the first round of the Class A Washington Twp. Sectional.

Washington (21-9) will face Kouts (12-11), which drew a bye, in Friday's semifinal. The Mustangs knocked out the Senators 8-5 in last year's sectional semifinals, but Roberts isn't using revenge as motivation for his players.

"It's not going to make up for last year," Roberts said. "The revenge factor is for losers.

"We want to win because we need to win the next game."

Winning was never in doubt against Covenant Christian. The Knights' (1-12) lack of experience and talent was evident.

The Senators exploded for 11 runs in the first inning, roughing up Covenant starter Zach Bowers for six hits. The Knights also committed six of their eight errors in the inning, including several catchable balls in the outfield.

The biggest hit in the inning was a two-run homer over the right-field fence by Washington senior Greg Fadell. The blast was his fourth of the season.

"We played them during the regular season and it took us about three innings before we started hitting," Roberts said. "Sometimes with guys like that who throw a little slower it gets quirky and can throw you off balance.

"We just hit the ball well."

Washington added seven more runs in the second. Sophomore Bryce Pappas started the rally with a two-run single, and sophomore Corey Holderread followed with a two-RBI triple.

Roberts used three pitchers. Cody Goodan worked the first two innings, striking out five, and Alec Muha (3-1) struck out four in the next two innings. Freshman Chas Peiffer worked the final inning, allowing the first three Covenant hits of the game.

Roberts was able to use 16 players, and 13 scored at least one run.

"We advanced, and we got people in the game," Roberts said.

For Covenant, junior catcher Francisco Pineiro broke up the no-hitter with a double down the left-field line starting the fifth inning. He scored on a single by Bowers, and Bowers scored on a hit by Dan Bakker.