AREA TEAMS STAND A WIN SHY OF FINAL FOUR; ST. VINCENT RIDES WAVE OF MOMENTUM TO WINONA (1A)

Ever since the postseason began, St. Vincent High's baseball team has been defeating opponents with much better records on a regular basis.

So the Indians are not likely to be intimidated by host Winona when the squads square off at 3 p.m. today in a Class 1A quarterfinal game. To the winner goes a berth in next week's 1A Final Four in Columbia.

"I don't think records are going to make a difference," said St. Vincent coach Rick Wibbenmeyer. "I feel our kids are battle tested enough, they're just going to go out and play. It's 0-0 when we start."

The Indians, just 9-13 when the regular season ended, have reeled off four impressive victories to even their mark at 13-13, the latest coming 3-0 Thursday against Holcomb in the sectionals. Overall, St. Vincent has won seven of its past eight games.

Winona has a glossy 16-2 record, but the Indians are on quite a roll -- and it has not been totally unexpected by Wibbenmeyer.

The Indians competed against primarily larger schools all season as a member of the Jefferson County Conference. And they got off to a slow start this year.

But Wibbenmeyer thought all along that the Indians were a solid, if not spectacular, 1A team, so he has not been stunned by their postseason success.

"I feel like with our good pitching and defense, we should be in every game, so it doesn't really surprise me," he said. "I had a lot of confidence going in, and I think these kids have believed in themselves."

Pitching and defense have been the keys for St. Vincent most of the season and that has definitely been the case in the playoffs.

During the postseason, the Indians have allowed just four runs in four games and they've posted two shutouts. That has more than made up for an offense that has pushed across just eight runs in the past three games.

"We haven't hit the ball real well as a team this year, but we seem to get a lot of timely hits, and we run the bases well," Wibbenmeyer said.

Derek Kutz pitched his second shutout of the postseason Thursday as the Indians eliminated visiting Holcomb in the sectional round.

Today, sophomore Tyler Wengert will get the call on the mound. Wengert, who like Kutz has recorded two of St. Vincent's postseason victories, is 6-3 with a 3.32 earned-run average on the season.

"Derek and Tyler have been very consistent all year," said Wibbenmeyer. "Derek pitched a very good game (Thursday) and I have a lot of confidence in Tyler. I expect another good game from him."

While St. Vincent's team batting average is well under .300 and the Indians have hit just six home runs, Winona boasts a mark of close to .470 and Brian Simpson has belted 17 homers of his own, thanks partly to a small field that the Wildcats play on.

"We've got 10 kids who have hit very good this year," said Winona coach Pete Wakefield. "We win a lot of ballgames with our batting, but our pitching is probably not as good as it should be."

Wibbenmeyer knows little about Winona other than all the gaudy offensive numbers the Wildcats have put up. He does expect them to be a strong team, primarily because they're still playing.

"Anybody at this point will be a very good club," he said. "We're confident, but we expect another really tough game."