WLB season ends with 4-1 loss to Delavan

[September 19, 2017]  In the IESA Regional Final held at Chester East Lincoln, the Delavan Panthers ended the West Lincoln Broadwell season with a hard fought 4-1 win. The #1 seeded Panthers will move on to play in the Sectional Finals on Saturday, September 23rd.

Starting pitcher Daulton Miller took the loss on the mound for WLB. The lanky right-handed 8th grader threw 3+ innings giving up 3 runs, all earned. Miller struck out 3, walked 4 and allowed just 1 hit. Left-handed fellow 8th grader Sam Gleason relieved Miller on the mound going 3 full innings allowing 1 unearned run on just 1 hit and a walk.

Gleason led the Wolverine offense with 2 singles. 8th grader Scotty Battin added a single and scored the only WLB run. Battin scored on Miller's RBI single to left field. 7th grader Jacob Langley added a single for the Wolverines to round out the offense.

Delavan scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first on a 2-out walk and an RBI single. The Panthers added another run in their half of the 2nd inning on a leadoff walk and a ground out to second base. Another leadoff walk came around to score in the 4th inning giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead.

WLB finally broke through in the top of the 6th inning when Battin led off with a single to center. Miller then followed with an RBI single scoring Battin. Sam Gleason added a 1-out single to put runners on 1st and 2nd. 6th-grader Trey Schilling then smashed a line drive up the middle but the Panther shortstop made a potential game-saving defensive play snagging it in the air and doubling up the WLB runner at 2nd to end the threat.

The Panthers added an insurance run in the bottom of the 6th inning and set the Wolverines down in order in the top of the 7th to secure the win 4-1.

"We did a pretty good job tonight against a very good baseball team," said head coach Jeff Nelson. "Daulton and Sammy holding them to just 2 hits was an incredible job on the mound. A few too many walks hurt us a little, but they both did a fantastic job pitching out of some jams. Offensively, we had runners on 2nd and 3rd in 3 of the 6 innings but couldn't come up with the big hit to drive the runners home. It wasn't that we didn't put it in play, instead it was some very solid Delavan defense that took us out of a big inning.

"The play by Briggs on Trey's line drive in the 6th was a big play in the game. We had some momentum, but he made an excellent diving play and doubling up our runner at second. Nothing we could've done differently, it was just a great play.

"I want to personally thank Coach Charley Miller for all of his help and knowledge that he gave me and the players in his years of coaching. This was Coach Miller's last season on the ball field and he will be missed. I'm sure he'll be out and about at the field, but not having him in the dugout and at practices will be very different. I was also luck to have Coach Rob Sherren this year too which gave us another solid baseball guy to help our young players. I look forward to having him back with us next year."

"Finally, I want to thank the four 8th graders for their hard work and leadership this year. It was a pleasure coaching all of them. Drew Eimer, Sam Gleason, Daulton Miller, and Scotty Battin will all be missed. As I told the underclassmen in our final meeting, they have some big shoes to fill next year. We do have some solid pieces coming back next year, but we will need to fill the void of our 8th graders in terms of leadership. Good luck to all of the guys the rest of the school year."

Good luck to the Delavan Panthers in the Sectional Finals on Saturday.

Final Record: 11-7

WLB 1
Delavan 4

Pitching:
Daulton Miller; LP; 3 IP; 3 K; 4 BB; 1 H; 3 R; 3 ER
Sam Gleason; 3 IP; 0 K; 1 BB; 1 H; 1 R; 0 ER

Hitting:
Sam Gleason; 2 singles
Daulton MIller; single; RBI
Scotty Battin; single; run
Jacob Langley; single
Trey Schilling; SAC

[Coach Jeff Nelson]