Independence, Marion split Wamac Conference baseball doubleheader

MARION – Independence’s Andrew Rottinghaus has been a go-to guy on the mound.

He leads the Mustangs in starts and innings pitched without a loss.

When Independence needed a quality start, the senior right hander delivered. Rottinghaus allowed just one run in six innings and helped the Mustangs to a 6-3 victory over Class 3A No. 3 Marion in the nightcap of a Wamac Conference high school baseball doubleheader split Monday night at Les Hipple Athletic Complex. The Wolves won the opener, 6-3, thanks to a win from relief pitcher Cole Goodrich.

“It was nice,” Independence Coach Joel Holst said. “We’ve been building, playing better baseball. We’ve played a tough schedule.

“Playing your best baseball at the end is always the goal. These guys understand that.”

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Rottinghaus was a big part of the Mustangs success in Game 2. He scattered seven hits to improve to 4-0. The approach was to throw strikes, avoid walks and make the Wolves bat their way on base.

“I told myself I was going to be in the zone,” Rottinghaus said. “If they hit it, they hit it. They will earn it. Luckily, they hit it where we had guys and they made plays for us.”

Rottinghaus wasn’t overpowering, tallying only two strikeouts. He was able to pitch to contact and only allowed one runner to reach third through the first four innings.

“I started using more off speed and kept them off-balance,” Rottinghaus said. “I started getting weak contact and my defense made a lot of plays behind me. They were awesome and helped me out a lot.”

In the innings Marion did threaten, Rottinghaus was able to thwart the rally. The Wolves loaded the bases in the third but Rottinghaus induced an inning-ending double play without giving up a run.

Marion got on the board with back-to-back hits from Tait Rahe and Lucas Stearns in the fifth. Rottinghaus stranded two runners, getting a popout and snagging a line drive up the middle to end the inning.

“He’s been like that all season,” Holst said. “Get a couple guys on base and refocus. That’s the kind of pitcher he’s been for us. He is a gamer.

“he had a nice ballgame and we played complementary baseball. It was a good W (win) for us.”

Independence gave Rottinghaus an early lead. Chris Meyer was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. Bryce Christian followed with a single and Rottinghaus drove in Meyer with a double. Benton Enright added an RBI groundout for a 2-0 lead in the first.

Meyer had an RBI single in the second to score Ethan Schmitt. Meyer and Schmitt scored in the fourth for a 5-0 lead.

Meyer thrived at the plate all day. He finished 4-for-5 with a walk, hit by pitch, RBI and three runs. Christian pitched an inning of relief, giving up two runs to open the seventh and striking out the final three batters of the game.

“We feel good about this team,” Holst said. “It has gone through a lot of different things. We feel we have a chance offensively when we do what we did on the mound the second game.”

Pitching played a key part of the Wolves win in Game 1. The first three batters of the game scored for Independence and Marion starter Andrew Ahmann left the game due to injury. Cole Goodrich, who was expected to work a couple of innings of relief, entered the game with one out in the first. All he did was work 6 2/3 shutout innings. Goodrich allowed only two hits and didn’t walk a batter.

“We had to go to the bullpen,” Marion Coach Steve Fish said. “He did a hell of a job. He always does that. We didn’t want him to use that many pitches. We had to in a conference game.”

Marion answered with the bats in Game 1. The Wolves tied the game, 3-3, after one complete. Jake Miller led off with a single and scored on a wild pitch. Jaryn Griffith added a two-run single, knocking in Grayson Kirsch and courtesy runner Colton Neal.

The Wolves took the lead in the second when Miller tripled and came in on Isaiah Scott’s double. Cole Goodrich’s single plated Austi Goodrich in the third. Kirsch capped the scoring with a solo home run in the sixth.

“I thought we did some nice things after some adversity in Game 1,” Fish said. “We’re down three. We score three and all of a sudden we tack some on. … It goes 6-3. I’m like, ‘All right. Good.’ Everyone did that.”

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