Owls rock Trinity Lutheran to start season
March 31, 2022
A HOOT OF AN OPENER: Owls rock Trinity Lutheran to start season
By Casey Regruth For The Tribune
Seymour’s baseball team took down crosstown rival Trinity Lutheran, 17-0, in both teams’ season opener on Tuesday night at American Legion Field.
Despite the chilly weather, the Owls started hot, scoring eight runs on five hits against the Cougars’ starting pitcher Kowan Gross.
The high-scoring inning began when center fielder Charlie Longmeier tripled to left field, scoring Vince Wilson and Bret Perry. Skyler Cockerham, Will Cottrill, and Andrew Levine each drove in runs on singles before a passed ball allowed two more runs.
“It was a good start. I was pleased with our energy tonight,” Seymour head coach Jeremy Richey said. “We scored every inning, but the part that I loved was that everybody played. We had two big hits from some of our younger guys. It was a good start to the season. We didn’t make any errors in the field and (Aden) Burnside threw a heck of a game. That’s something we can build on.”
Seymour’s victory was highlighted by Burnside’s stellar pitching. The senior southpaw no-hit the Cougars, striking out 12 of the 16 batters he faced while only allowing one batter to reach base on a fifth-inning walk.
“The slider and fastball were the only two pitches I threw tonight. I was just locating them on the corners,” Burnside said.
Cottrill led Seymour’s offense with a two-run home run over the left field fence in the second inning. The senior paced the Owls with three RBI.
“The first at bat, I was just looking for an early fastball,” Cottrill said. “I hit the first strike he threw to me and got an RBI. The second at bat, on the first pitch, he threw it exactly where I wanted it, and I took it for a ride.”
“Will’s got an opportunity to step in and play and has done a nice job,” Richey said. “The part I’m most proud about with Will is he starts the first game tonight and has probably the best game he’s ever played. Then, when we took him out, he was a great teammate after that.
I was proud of the teammate he was as much as the player.”
A third-inning triple by first baseman Aiden Darlage drove in two more runs and stretched the Owls’ lead to 12-0. Reserves Jounes Rodriguez and Gavin Leavy added key hits in the bottom of the fourth inning to seal the deal for Seymour.
Burnside retained a perfect game into the fifth inning until he walked Gross on a full count.
“It was pretty frustrating. I just missed a spot. I should have finished it, but I just had to forget it, move on and still get the no-hitter,” Burnside said.
The senior’s performance was complimented by his defense, with nice plays coming from Perry and Rodriguez.
For Trinity, after totaling one strikeout and seven earned runs in two thirds of an inning, Gross was relieved by Nathan Voelker, who steadied the Cougars by forcing a pop out to end the first inning. Voelker finished with seven earned runs, one walk, and one strikeout in two and two-thirds innings.
Peyton Pollert also served in relief for Trinity, pitching two thirds of an inning and tallying one strikeout.
“We’ve got four or five pitchers who are all around the same level,” said Trinity head coach Ben Kleber. “We wanted to see them pitch and get some experience against a good hitting team.”
Kleber is optimistic about the rest of his team’s season, saying, “I’m looking forward to us growing more as a team, gaining some confidence.
We’ve got to learn to play pitch by pitch, rather than thinking about our last at bats. Just live in the moment. If we can do that, we’ll get better.”
Trinity (0-1) will look to bounce back against Austin on April 4, while Seymour (1-0) plays at Lanesville on Saturday.
After hitting the ball over the fence, Seymour’s Will Cottrill, right, is met at home plate by a teammate during the season opener Tuesday against Trinity. Greg Jones | For The Tribune
