Baseball: D-I top-ranked Centerville beats D-II No. 2 Troy 6-0 in postseason tuneup

May 14—CENTERVILLE — It's the final two weeks of the high school baseball season, which means it's time for some of the area's top programs to showcase their matchmaking skills by tangling with each other in competitive, non-league dress rehearsals for the upcoming playoffs.

These contests are usually scheduled the summer before, so it's a sign of mutual respect when schools sign contracts to play during this pre-postseason period. And while every coach takes a different philosophical and structural stance toward this preparation stage, both Troy's Ty Welker and Centerville's Jason Whited agree on one strategy — the tougher the foe, the better.

And while there are plenty of eye-opening matchups coming in the area over the next several days, few will boast the marquee star power of Centerville's 6-0 win over Troy on Wednesday, May 13, at Engleka-Dickten Field in Centerville.

Coming in, the elite-level clubs had put up some gaudy regular season numbers, combining for a 41-4 record with 432 runs scored — and just 108 allowed. The host Elks are ranked first in the state in Division I, while Troy is ranked No. 2 in Division II, and both squads were coming off dominant runs toward their respective conference championships.

"I could go out and try to win 25 games every year if I wanted to schedule teams that weren't competitive," Welker said. "I asked the guys if they wanted to run-rule every team or if they wanted to play teams that are going to make us better. Playing teams like Centerville is a challenge for our guys, but I think it's going to pay off."

Whited's strategic approach to the matchup was pure playoff big-game planning as the Elks utilized station-to-station baseball and attempted five sacrifice bunts while riding a complete-game three-hitter from senior hurler Luke "Magic" Maciejewski to earn the victory over the Trojans.

"That's the approach we take offensively, and that's how you win close games in the playoffs," Whited said. "You're not going to get as many opportunities against good teams like Troy, so you have to play run by run. Then, one run can turn into three and you have a big inning."

Centerville's prolific frame came in the bottom of the second and began with a one-out fielding miscue by the Trojans (20-3). After two sacrifice attempts, one of which resulted in a hit, the Elks dented the scoreboard courtesy of a two-out single from Joey Kristbaum. After another bunt turned into a single to load the bases, Centerville's Colten Burleson cleared them with the biggest hit of the game — a three-run double into the gap.

The Elks tacked on single runs in the third and sixth, with both coming thanks in part to station-to-station strategy, and that was more than enough support for Maciejewski, who is now 6-1 on the season with a 1.35 earned-run average.

"We weren't going to extend (Maciejewski) today, but he was at a pitch count that we felt comfortable with," Whited said. "It wasn't by design, but it worked out, especially with the fact that we were able to get double plays in three consecutive innings. And this allows us to be able to throw some of our other guys in these games we have coming up."