WATERTOWN – If you’re a fan of pitching, the matchup between the Carver Black Sox and Watertown Red Devils was made for you.
Pitching had the upper hand all game long as baserunners were hard to come by. In the end, it was Watertown who outlasted the Black Sox with a 1-0 win 16 innings Sunday night at Highland Park.
We were expecting a tight game,” Watertown manager Jared Duske said. “I wasn’t expecting 16 innings though in a makeup game. It was a heck of a game. They’re a heck of a team and probably going to win the south. That’s a game we needed to have for confidence and hopefully provide a spark for the rest of the season.”
Ryan Hangartner played the hero for the Red Devils. After being held to just one hit in the first nine innings, Watertown began to threaten in extra innings. In the bottom of the 16th, Hangartner came through with two runners on and two outs. A single to left field scored Mitchell Kelzer, giving the Red Devils a thrilling 1-0 walk-off win.
“It felt pretty darn great,” Hangartner said about his game-winning hit. “I think that was probably the longest game I’ve ever played in. It was fun. I haven’t been seeing the ball well all year. It was about time. Just started seeing it better today and I felt good.”
“That’s one of the things with Ryan,” Duske said. “We’re kind of moving him in and out of the lineup this year. We have a full roster of guys we feel comfortable putting out there. He’s one of them. Coming into the games, they know it could be anyone’s spot but they have to come ready. He was ready and I felt comfortable up there with him.”
Hangartner’s heroics wouldn’t have been possible without Watertown’s pitching staff. After showing something against Waconia earlier this season, Duske decided to mix things up by starting Holt Hunziker.
“Holt gave us a heck of an outing against Waconia,” Duske said. “That kind of proved that if he could go five against them, let’s give him a shot. Let’s mix it up and put our best defense behind him with Tschida in the outfield and Iten at first.”
Hunziker delivered. Typically a relief pitcher, Hunziker gave the Red Devils five strong innings in which he struck out 10.
After Hunziker started things off on a strong note for Watertown, Zach Iten was even better. Iten retired the first 17 batters he faced. The only batter to reach against Iten in his six innings of work was Andrew Weber who drew a two-out walk.
“We felt pretty confident,” Iten said about him and the pitching staff for Watertown. “We have really good arms. Having that confidence for the next guy coming out is huge. It’s fun having guys like that. I was just getting the ball and repeating my mechanics as much as possible. I’ve got a great catcher in Theisen who always pumps me up. That and some great defense, it was just a good game.”
Still scoreless after 11 innings, Duske called on Matt Butler to pitch in the 12th. Not expecting to throw, Butler was up for the challenge. After striking out the side in order in the top of the 12th, Butler kept things rolling for the Red Devils into the 16th inning.
Carver’s lone threat in extra innings came in the top of the 13th. Sam Warner led off the inning with a bunt single. He was later moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Cullen McNeil.
With two outs, Connor Cornell stepped to the plate for Carver against Butler. Butler got Cornell swinging, but a dropped third strike allowed Cornell to reach base and keep the inning alive.
With runners on the corners, Butler delivered one more time with a huge strikeout keeping the game scoreless.
“It’s unbelievable,” Hangartner said about the pitching staff. “Every inning we went out there and we knew they weren’t going to score. We have so much trust in our pitchers. They’ve been great all year. I’m glad we could get the bats going and get a run and get them the win.”
Watertown had a chance of their own in the bottom of the 13th. After Ben Theisen led off the inning by being hit by a pitch, the Red Devils had the game-winning run at third with two outs. This time, it was Jacob Booden coming through for the Black Sox with a huge strikeout to keep the game scoreless.
Strong pitching from Butler the rest of the way set up Hangartner’s game-winner in the bottom of the 16th. The win for the Red Devils keeps them near the top in the Region 7C Standings, while the loss for Carver puts them in a tie with Plato in the CRVL South Standings.
“We have good pitchers,” Iten said. “They have good pitchers. You just knew one run was going to be the difference. You have to ride the highs and the lows.”
“With a big roster like this, everyone comes ready to play,” Duske added. “That’s one of the things we preach. Everybody be ready when called upon. A big roster can be difficult at times with playing time, but we’re a family here. We enjoy coming to the ballpark. We’re all working together. We’re hungry for more state tournament action.”
Watertown and Carver pitchers combined to strike out more than 50 hitters in the 16-inning affair.
After rolling out three of their top four pitchers in the win over Carver, the Red Devils will have to lean on their depth, even more, this week with games coming up Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Butler had to come in at the end of the game and we weren’t planning on that with a couple of other games this week,” Duske said. “Now with our big roster, we’ll just have to make do with what we got for Tuesday and Wednesday. We got arms. We got guys. We’ll find a way.”
Follow Kip Kovar on Twitter – @Kovar_HJSports