SHORELINE — Great offense covers a multitude of defensive sins, as the Shorewood baseball team discovered on Tuesday afternoon.
The Thunderbirds, usually steady on defense, committed six errors against Meadowdale in a Class 3A District 1 playoff game at Meridian Park, including four in the first two innings as the visiting Mavericks seized an early 1-0 lead.
But additional scoring would be difficult to come by for the Mavericks against Shorewood ace Ian Oxnevad, and meanwhile the T-birds were showing off their offensive might.
Over the next four innings they banged out nine hits, including four for extra bases, while also taking advantage of two walks, a hit batter and four Meadowdale errors in the same stretch, and the result was a 9-2 victory that sends Shorewood into Saturday’s district championship game, and also clinched a spot in the state tournament for the T-birds.
“We were a little sloppy in the beginning,” T-birds coach Wyatt Tonkin acknowledged with a wry smile. “And we’re not going to be perfect every game. But we’ll come back and play good defense because that’s something we really take pride in.”
But even though Shorewood was having an off night in the field, “our bats made up for it,” Tonkin said. “And Ian can also make up for a few mistakes.”
Before the normal gathering of pro scouts who are eyeing Oxnevad closely in anticipation of the upcoming major league draft — “There’s usually 10 to 15 here (when Oxnevad pitches),” Tonkin said — the senior left-hander checked Meadowdale on four hits in his six innings of work. He walked one and struck out seven.
In the first two innings, the Mavericks had two hits, a walk, and two Shorewood errors that put runners on base (two other errors were errant pickoff throws), but they managed only one run. In both innings, and with Meadowdale threatening to score again, Oxnevad got the second and third outs with strikeouts.
Overall, Tonkin said, “it wasn’t his best stuff. But that’s what really good pitchers do. They battle you and throw strikes. And even without his best stuff, he’s good enough.”
In the later innings, Oxnevad seemed to gain better velocity and location. He is, Tonkin said, “like one of those thoroughbred race horses. He gets out there and by the third, fourth, fifth innings he can see that finish line, and then he really starts pouring it on.”
Indeed, Tonkin added, Oxnevad is “a big horse. And when you’ve got one like that, you ride him.”
Every player but one in the Shorewood starting lineup hit safely in the game, and third baseman Spencer Jacobs and center fielder Aaron Okamura each had two hits with a double. Second baseman Steffen Torgersen scored three runs and, according to Tonkin, broke Trevor Mitsui’s school record for games played at 93. Okamura and shortstop Arthur Pate both scored twice.
It was, Tonkin said, “a pretty good game for us at the plate.”
For the Mavericks, shortstop Kenley Ackerman and first baseman Alex Thompson were both 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Meadowdale’s Brett Schaefer had the defensive play of the game in center field, making a low dive to take a hit away from Shorewood’s Nick Edney with two outs and runner in scoring position in the second inning, denying the T-birds a run.
At Meridian Park
Meadowdale 010 000 1 — 2 6 4
Shorewood 003 411 x — 6 10 6
Garrett Walsh, Connor Moss (4), Jacob Hunnewell (5) and Parker Coffey. Ian Oxnevad, Will Smith (7) and Nick Edney. WP—Oxnevad. LP—Walsh. 2B—Kenley Ackerman (M), Garrett Walsh (M), Alex Thompson (M), Aaron Okamura (S), Steffen Torgersen (S), Brendan O’Brien (S), Ian Oxnevad (S). Records—Meadowdale 13-9, Shorewood 19-3.
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