HOBART | Hobart coach Bob Glover knows this is exactly what his team needed to close out the regular season.
With the Brickies starting postseason action Thursday in the Class 4A Merrillville Sectional against LaPorte, Tuesday’s 8-1 win over Wheeler was what the doctor ordered.
“That was exactly what we needed, the kind of effort and the focus today,” Glover said. “It would have been easy to view this as a meaningless game and be looking forward to Thursday already. We didn’t do that. We talked to them yesterday about not letting bad habits creep in, and they didn’t. They were focused on the job today and hopefully going forward.”
The Brickies (22-7) put up back-to-back three-run innings, with the first coming in the fourth frame. Wheeler committed three throwing errors in the inning before Anthony Burgos plated the final run on an RBI groundout.
Hobart’s Drey Devereaux was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth inning to ignite the three-spot that put the game out of reach for Wheeler (21-7).
Glover was pleased with his team’s ability to take advantage of Wheeler’s mistakes in that fourth inning, and all around the Brickies played effective small ball.
“It was good, the situations called for it,” he said. “Anytime you can execute and get the job done when you need to, that’s big. We did, and they helped us out a little bit. Capitalizing on mistakes is part of it, too.”
Glover also wanted to test his pitching depth, so he trotted four pitchers in C.J. Komosa, Jarrett Colvin, Danny Stewart and Jake Ehrlich.
“We’re just trying to get everybody a little work,” he said. “They all did a great job, and that kind of shows off our depth. For them to come out against a good team like Wheeler and not be intimidated, that’s good for them.”
Wheeler coach Josh Long reiterated the importance of good defense after the game. The Bearcats also failed to find clutch hitting in the game.
“We have to make the plays,” he said. “We were a base hit or two away from being right in this at the end. Kids are going to make errors.
"That’s a good club. If you give them extra outs, they’re going to take advantage.”
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