LUCAS – Rodney Weikel has seen the scene play out too many times this season for his Lucas High School baseball team.
One bad inning was too much for his young Cubs to overcome Monday night in a 10-5 loss to Danville in a Mid-Buckeye Conference game at LHS. The defeat dropped Lucas to 2-19 overall and 2-6 in the league.
Weikel, an assistant who had to take over the reins just as the season began, watched his team surrender five runs in the second inning when the Blue Devils sent 10 batters to the plate.
Danville pounded out six hits in the inning and also took advantage of a Lucas error, taking a 6-1 lead after one and a half innings.
“It’s usually just one or two innings. Baseball is a game of three outs,” Weikel said. “When you give them four, five or six, they are gonna make you pay for it.”
For the remainder of the game, the Cubs played Danville even, each team plating four additional runs.
“I thought we were patient at times at the plate. We made some decent plays in the field. And we pitched well except for the second inning,” Weikel said.
It’s been a steep learning curve for the Cubs, a team with just four seniors and one junior. The remainder of the club is comprised of sophomores and freshmen. Uncertainty in the coaching ranks added to the stress level.
“We have overcome a lot and we are now starting to unite and come together,” Weikel said. “We are seeing more guys step up and take on leadership roles.”
The Cubs managed six hits against Danville, led by a pair of singles by first baseman Chase Stevens. Other players contributing hits were Tyler Roberts (double), Sam Davis, Austin Wagner and Christopher Boyd. Wagner drove in two runs while Schell, Boyd and Alex Switzer each drove in one. Roberts scored two runs while Davis, Stevens and Boyd each scored once.
Kyle Shindeldecker worked in relief of starter Tom Schell, allowing just two runs over the final four innings. The Blue Devils finished with 14 hits, 12 of which were singles. Lucas pitchers recorded six strikeouts and issued just two walks.
Despite the losing record, several Cubs players are having solid individual seasons. Schell is batting more than .400 and is among the area leaders in stolen bases. Stevens has worked his way into a starting role and was recently hitting around .500. Switzer is a former back-up catcher now in a starting role.
Lucas has a non-league game Wednesday at South Central. The Cubs play in the Division IV sectional tournament Saturday at noon at Sycamore Mohawk.
