Loeb it or leave it: Zebras return to site of regional triumph, beat Lafayette Jeff in season opener
- Val T.
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
Offense scores 12 in 5th, Paulik pitches 4-hitter after taking liner off leg
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
LAFAYETTE — Rochester’s Drew Bowers hit a soft squibber down the first baseline against Lafayette Jefferson in Thursday’s baseball season opener at Loeb Stadium when the ball, and with it the Zebras’ fortunes, took a left turn.
When it was over, Rochester sent 18 men to the plate and scored 12 runs in earning a sudden, shocking 12-1 win in five innings.
Carson Paulik survived a liner off his leg to the first batter of the game and pitched a four-hitter, and the Zebras played errorless defense behind him.
Tanner Reinartz had a double, a sacrifice fly and three RBIs. Parker Casper and Drew Bowers each had two hits and two RBIs in the inning, and Brant Beck also reached twice and drove in two runs.
Rochester did not have a hit through the first 4 ⅓ innings against Lafayette Jeff starter Ethan Lane, but at one point in the fifth inning, 12 consecutive Rochester batters reached base.
Rochester was playing at Loeb Stadium for the first time since a 7-4 win over Benton Central in a Class 2A regional June 1, 2024.
Ben Pickering scored the lone Lafayette Jeff run on a steal of home on a botched rundown play in the bottom of the third to give the Bronchos a 1-0 lead.
Rochester had four baserunners in the first four innings on two walks and two errors but still trailed with one out in the fifth when Bowers stepped up.
His ground ball appeared foul, but Bowers hustled out the play, and the ball took an awkward spin on the Loeb Stadium artificial turf and moved back into fair territory. By the time Lane tracked the ball down, it had moved down the line and Bowers beat the play at first for an infield single.
“That was weird,” Good said. “It broke things open for us. It broke up the no-no. Got us going. Baseball’s a weird game. You don’t know what’s going to get you going, but that did.”
Brady Coleman then walked to move Bowers to second.
With Parker Casper up, coach Cory Good called for a hit-and-run. Second baseman Mason Pechin rushed to second to cover the bag, and Casper sent a grounder right where Pechin would have been for an RBI single that scored Bowers.
“I just got a hit-and-run (sign), and I knew I had to put the bat on the ball,” Casper said. “I just got an outside pitch, and I put it right through the 4-hole, 3-hole.”
Reinartz then smashed a double to deep left over left fielder Nate Hilsabeck’s head. Coleman scored easily, and Casper just barely beat a tight relay throw to the plate. In a span of four batters, Lane’s 1-0 lead had turned into a 3-1 deficit.
Lafayette Jeff coach Greg Franklin replaced Lane with Peyton Parker. With Lane out of the game, the Rochester offense found the fast lane.
Paulik walked. Brant Beck sent a seeing eye grounder on the right side through the 3-4 hole for an RBI single to make it 4-1. Zakk Parks was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Franklin replaced Parker with Pechin.
Linden Wilburn sent a grounder to the left side of the diamond. Third baseman Preston Robertson made a diving attempt but could not snag it, but shortstop Leyton Corbin ranked far to his right and kept the ball on the infield. His best chance for an out was to win a footrace to third against Beck, but Beck won that race and was safe. Paulik scored to make it 5-1.
Then, Connor Dunfee hit a grounder into the hole on the left side. Again, Corbin stopped it. Again, he had no play. Beck scored to make it 6-1.
Bowers returned to the plate, and his second hit of the inning was a two-run single to left-center to make it 8-1.
Coleman was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Casper drove in another run with another single to right.
Marshall Evano was summoned to replace Pechin, and he yielded Reinartz’s sacrifice fly to make it 10-1.
Paulik reached on an error to load the bases, and Evano then walked Beck and pinch-hitter Callen Ferverda to complete the 12-run inning.
“I challenged these guys with some velo (Wednesday),” Good said. “It might have been a little too much velo. I think they were just early and weren’t being as patient as what I’d like to see from them. So I just had a little chalk talk with them. We’ve got to think middle, middle-away. Wait on that ball a little bit. Find some barrels, and I think that was the adjustment.”
This marked Parks’ first game behind the plate of his varsity career and his first high school game since 2023. He missed last season, his sophomore season, due to shoulder surgery.
“I was so excited about having Zakk as a freshman,” Good said. “You know, he pushed some of those juniors and seniors in our outfield. We got him some time in center field. Really, all through late last season and into the summer and the fall, Zakk said he wanted to be the guy behind the plate. We have some back-up options, but he’s just such a good athlete that you get him on the bases, he’s a threat. Anywhere he plays defensively, he’s going to be very good. I thought he did a great job behind the plate tonight. His leadership has been incredible so far.”
Paulik took Pickering’s liner off his leg on the game’s first pitch. Adrenaline got him back on his feet, but after his throw to first was late, Paulik crumpled on the field.
But he bounced back, and Good later said that Paulik “turned that pain into motivation,” working around five walks and a hit batter and getting the Bronchos to leave eight on base.
Casper was asked about the team’s potential.
“I think we can win every game we play as long as we play together and play hard,” Casper said.
Zebra notes
Rochester’s three-way doubleheader at Jeffersonville Saturday was canceled due to the forecast of rainy weather. Madison was also going to participate. Weather forecasts had Jeffersonville receiving 1.4 inches of rain Saturday, and the area is under a flood warning until further notice.
Rochester 12, Lafayette Jeff 1 (5 innings)
Rochester 000 0(12) – 12 8 0
Lafayette Jeff 001 00 – 1 4 4
WP – Carson Paulik (5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K)
LP – Ethan Lane (4 ⅓ IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K)
2B – Tanner Reinartz (RHS)
Comments