Manitowoc Lincoln is a Regional champion in Boys Baseball after a wild, 2-1 walk-off victory over Slinger at Municipal Field last night.
The Ships (20-and-4) earned the win in front of a sizeable crowd when Ethan Hubbartt delivered a 2-out, run-scoring double to the gap in left-center to score Noah Wech from first with the tie-breaking run in the 8th inning.
The clutch hit came right after Hubbartt fouled a pitch off his ankle and would lay face down at the plate for a few seconds.
The senior D-H then delivered the game-winner on the very next offering.
“I was sitting on curveball all game and they finally hung me one where I liked it and y’know I couldn’t let it go by,” he told Seehafer News. “But right when I saw that up to bat I knew we were scoring and winning. This is amazing y’know, probably one of the greatest moments I could have in my life.”
Ethan spoke about the pitch he fouled off, saying it struck him on thie inside of his ankle.
We asked if leaving the game ever crossed his mind.
“No no no, I definitely planned on staying in,” he responded. “No matter how long it took I planned on staying in, I really wanted to be in that position.”
Coach Bruce Steinbecker called Hubbartt an “emotional” baseball player with an edge to him.
“Him getting hit in the foot, things like that make him angry and when Ethan is angry he sometimes seems to be a more productive hitter,” the coach said. “You know how bad it was, I’m thinking to myself y’know who’s gonna come in and hit for him, and then I quickly went to there’s no way he’s gonna let me take him out of the game. So, I’m like I knew that he was gonna stay up there and finish that at bat.”
Noah Wech led the offense with 3 hits, including a game-tying double in the last of the 5th and also drew a walk to start the rally in the 8th.
Wech pitched the first 5 innings and allowed 5 hits, an earned run, a walk 2 hit batsmen and 10 strikeouts.
Bryce Erdmann was the winning pitcher in relief, scattering 2 hits over the final 3 frames.
#1 seeded Lincoln will go up against Beaver Dam Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. in the first sectional semifinal at Oshkosh North.
The Golden Beavers defeated Sheboygan North 5-to-2 last night. The 2nd semifinal at E.J. Schneider Field between Watertown and Hartford is set for 1:00 p.m., with the winners to play for a trip to state at Fox Cities Stadium in a 4:00 p.m. start.
The Orioles upended the 2-seed, Menasha, 10-0 while the Goslings defeated West Bend West 7-3.
