Crusaders beats hosts to capture tourney

OAK RIDGE — Saxony Lutheran pitcher Chris Roth, like most of his teammates and others participating in the Oak Ridge baseball tournament Saturday, was cold.

Temperatures were in the 40s, a cold wind frequented the air and even some rain fell at times when the Crusaders played Oak Ridge in the tournament's championship game.

"This is about the coldest I've ever thrown in," Roth said. "When we were in the dugout, I just kept trying to move [my arm] around. And I just kept walking around moving my arm, trying to get warm."

Roth overcame both the chilly weather conditions and the Blue Jays.

He tossed a complete game, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits while striking out eight Oak Ridge batters. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate, and scored a run, to help the Crusaders past the Blue Jays 5-2.

Roth did not receive too much time to warm up because the tournament's consolation game extended past its scheduled time, causing the title game to begin about an hour after its original start time. Still, Roth felt strong.

"[My arm] felt one of the best it has all season," he said. "I didn't get a chance to throw many warm up pitches. I don't know if that helped me or not, but it felt really good when I got out there.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Saxony Lutheran's Ryan Spraneel was out at first as Oak Ridge's Dustin Meyr received a throw Saturday.

"I was really able to locate my fastball. That was the most important thing today. ... My curveball was also working real well and I was able to mix in my slider and that got some people."

Roth, who has started five games this season for the Crusaders, allowed just one hit over the first five innings. He retired 18 of the first 21 batters he faced.

"I thought he was better early than he normally is," Saxony coach Paul Sander said. "Chris sometimes has an inning or two before he really gets rolling. And it's sometimes like a major league pitcher when they say if you're going to get him, then you're going to have to get him early. And that's Chris Roth. If you're going to get him, you've got to get him early because he'll get stronger as the game goes on.

"But today he started strong from the start. I thought he had good pop on the ball and he mixed his pitches well. He's 4-0. I don't anybody in Southeast Missouri that's better than him."

While Roth shut down the Oak Ridge offense, Saxony jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Roth, batting No. 2 in the lineup, doubled with one out. But he was caught trying to steal third. Still, the Crusaders were able to get on the scoreboard when the next batter, Garrett Fritsche, walked, and then Bryant Steffens knocked him home on a double to center field. Steffens later scored on an error.

"That was huge," Roth said about getting two runs in the first. "Any time you can get up on a team early, it really sets the tone for the game. So that was really big."

Oak Ridge added three more runs in the fifth inning to take a 5-0 lead. Roth had a single and scored a run in the inning. He said it boosted his confidence after he struggled at the plate at the beginning of the season.

Roth helped himself out of some jams when Oak Ridge tried to rally in the sixth and seventh innings, including picking off Blue Jays freshman Brett Thomas from first after he reached on an error. Roth also made a nice play to deflect a ball with his glove that was hit in his direction, which was headed for center field. He then ran it down and made an off-balanced throw to first for the out.

"This is probably the best stuff he's had so far this year," catcher Bret Steffens said.