OSGOOD — Oldenburg Academy baseball was ranked as one of the top teams in Class A all season long before falling out of the rankings in the final poll.
On Monday, the Twisters showed Hauser why they were one of the top teams in the state.
Oldenburg quickly put up runs on the scoreboard and eventually handed the Jets a 10-0 season-ending loss in five innings in the semifinals of the Class A Jac-Cen-Del Sectional.
The loss didn’t take away from a strong season for Hauser. The Jets finished as co-champions of the Mid-Hoosier Conference by going 11-1 and went 18-11 overall.
“We did a lot of good things. We were co-champions in the conference, which is a great thing and a great fate. It’s something we set out every year to do,” Hauser coach Nate Long said. “Our next goal on our list was to win sectional, and we didn’t make the routine plays enough today. Their pitcher (Chris Hautman) kept us off balance, and we couldn’t get comfortable at the plate. These guys know how to win and know how to play baseball the right way. That’s why you hate losing the group you have.”
The Jets started out the game with Aaron Rork hitting a one-out triple. However, as he was celebrating the moment with his teammates in the nearby third base dugout, his foot came off the bag briefly. Oldenburg third baseman Charlie Schebler made the heads up play to make the tag for the out.
From that point forward, it was all the Twisters. In the bottom half of the inning, a walk and a single put runners on first and second. Charlie Schebler then knocked in both runs with a double. Riley Schebler then hit a single to plate another to make it 3-0.
In the second inning, Frank Moorman hit a leadoff double. Andrew Oesterling hit an RBI single, and Riley Schebler hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score another run. With a runner on third, a balk was called to extend the Twisters lead to 6-0.
In the third, an error and a walk put runners on first and second for the Twisters. Moorman hit his second double of the game to score another run to make it 7-0, and later in the inning added another to make it 8-0.
Oldenburg scored one run apiece in the next two innings to finish the game.
Hauser accumulated only three hits, with two coming from Rork going 2 for 2 with the triple. Eli Miller accounted for the other hit.
Long appreciated his senior class.
“We have a great group of seven seniors, especially after losing last year (to COVID-19), They did a tremendous job for our program stepping up and teaching the young kids that have no experience how to play the game of baseball the way we like to play it,“ Long said.
“We used each and every one of them in some part this year to succeed, and they did an outstanding job for us,” he added. “I’m going to miss them. They’re a great group. They were freshmen when we won our first sectional championship (as a coaching staff), so they know what it takes. They know the good feeling along with the bad feeling in this tournament.”
