Luketich, California stay cool in win over C-H
California’s Bobby Harris gets tagged out by Chartiers-Houston’s Andrew Kowalski at home plate during a Section 1-AA game Wednesday afternoon. California won 5-0.
California pitcher Nate Luketch struck out six and tossed a shutout in a Section 1-AA game against Chartiers-Houston Wednesday afternoon.
California’s Johnny DeFranco waits for teammate Alex Adams to cross home plate during Wednesday’s Section 1-AA game against Chartiers-Houston.
HOUSTON – California High School pitching coach Neil Forsythe grabbed a wet towel from a cooler and put it around Nate Luketich’s neck between innings, even though neither had much sweat dripping from their faces.
Luketich also allowed his teammates to find sanctuary in the dugout from the warm, sunny day, as he made his complete game performance look effortless.
With only 73 pitches, Luketich struck out six and allowed only two hits and one walk through his seven innings to lead California to a 5-0 victory over Section 1-AA opponent Chartiers-Houston Wednesday afternoon.
“What a performance,” California head coach Nick Damico said. “He was able to throw his fastball, both inside and outside, and threw his curveball and changeup whenever he wanted. Our pitching coach was elated because we could do about anything.”
Luketich, who improved his record to 3-0 and dropped his 1.45 ERA coming into the game, only faced two over the minimum after developing a comfort level of pitching to contact.
“My day was made by the defense behind me,” Luketich said. “We had such a clean day. I was just able to get the ground balls and easy fly balls and my teammates made the plays. I have 100 percent confidence in them because they make those kind of plays all of the time. I know I’m not going to blow it by every person, so it’s just about being able to get weak contact.”
The only threat posed by Chartiers-Houston (7-2, 8-4) came on a Destin Weiser double to the right-field gap in the bottom of the second inning, the only player to reach second base for the Bucs.
The other hit for C-H came on a fifth-inning single from Zach Southern.
“(Luketich) pounds the zone and was able to mix it up a little bit,” said C-H head coach Vince Capozza. “We just couldn’t put the bat on the ball. We didn’t hit him well the first time but we certainly didn’t hit him today. California is a good baseball team. They are well coached. The final score was 5-0 but it was never even that close.”
California (9-0, 12-1) extended its lead with plate discipline, drawing 10 walks, and creating troubles for the Bucs defense with eight steals. The Trojans have 91 steals through 13 games.
“Our overall team speed isn’t too fast but we make sure to practice it a lot,” Damico said. “We practice getting good jumps and mix it with stealing at random times and counts.”
A sacrifice fly deep down the right-field line by Luketich brought home leadoff hitter Johnny DeFranco, who reached on an error to begin the game, giving California a 1-0 lead.
The Trojans extended their lead after a two-run single by Brandon Powell with the bases loaded in the third inning.
Designated hitter Drake Johnson added another two runs with California’s lone extra base hit – a one-out double – in the top of the fifth inning, putting the Trojans ahead 5-0.
Luketich’s day finished on a high note by recording the final three outs via the strikeout.
“We need to keep everybody healthy,” Luketich said. “Keeping everybody cool is a part of that. I felt really good when I was able to get into the dugout and put a cool towel over my neck. Not only did it help calm me down but I think it helped everybody else out. The sun drains you.”
C-H brought in Southern and TJ Johnston to relieve Jordan Davis, who took the loss after allowing three runs – one unearned – during his three innings.
“We can’t start a game out with an error,” Capozza said. “We’ve been pitching really well so I can’t complain about a bad game. We just went through a stint of four games with only one unearned run allowed. It was just a bad day. The difference is our kids aren’t used to playing in games like that. (California) plays in them all the time. Winning breeds winning.”