ST. VINCENT EARNS TRIP TO FINAL FOUR

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Defending state champion St. Vincent returned to the Class 1A Final Four Saturday afternoon -- with major assistance from Ellington, the Indians' quarterfinal opponent.

The Whippets committed a whopping nine errors, leading to seven unearned runs, as the Indians posted an 11-3 victory in front of a big crowd at the Perryville City Park.

St. Vincent, which prevailed despite being outhit 11-7, will play either Community or Atlanta at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the 1A semifinals in Columbia, Mo.

"We put the ball in play and whenever you put it in play, good things will happen," said St. Vincent senior all-state catcher Ryan Brown, who sparked the Indians' offense with two hits, four runs batted in and three runs scored.

Said St. Vincent coach Rick Wibbenmeyer, whose squad improved to 17-11, "They helped us, but we were putting the ball in play. We put pressure on the defense and we capitalized when we got the opportunity."

The Indians had to overcome a bit of adversity on their way to the final four.

Junior all-stater Tyler Wengert, Saturday's scheduled starting pitcher, stayed on the bench for the first four innings because of something he had apparently done the day before. Wengert wound up hurling the final three innings.

Wibbenmeyer would not say exactly what caused him to bench Wengert.

"He did something against my values and I felt I needed to send all the kids the right message," Wibbenmeyer said. "At the same time, I didn't think it was fair to the team for him not to be involved. It was a tough decision."

Senior all-stater Derek Kutz, who is considered the Indians' co-ace along with Wengert, got the unexpected start Saturday even though he had pitched into the sixth inning of Thursday's 2-0 sectional win over Holcomb.

Because of state regulations that limit a hurler to 10 innings over a three-day period, Kutz was only allowed to work four innings Saturday. Although admittedly not at his sharpest, Kutz was still effective, allowing one run and five hits, with five strikeouts and three walks.

"Derek just gutted it out," said an admiring Wibbenmeyer. "He didn't have much today, but he's a winner."

Kutz, who learned he would be starting on the mound only a little more than two hours before the scheduled 2 p.m. first pitch, said, "Mentally, it was hard to get into it. I didn't have my best stuff."

Kutz also turned in by far the defensive play of the game and it might have even kept the Indians from having to squeeze out a victory.

St. Vincent led just 3-1 in the top of the fifth when Ellington leadoff batter Mike Russell singled. Levi Cowin then hit a smash up the middle that looked like a sure single.

But Kutz, who had moved to shortstop after Wengert took over on the mound, dove headfirst to his left and snared the ball behind the bag. He got to his feet quickly, stepped on second for a forceout and fired to first to complete the double play.

Ellington's next batter, Mark Buller, singled, but the Whippets failed to score in the frame after it originally looked like they might be heading for a big rally.

The Indians scored three runs -- only one was earned -- in the first inning, the only hit being Brown's two-run triple.

Ellington (15-5) got a run in the third. Then, after the defensive gem by Kutz, the Indians began to pull away with four unearned runs in the fifth as the Whippets made four errors.

The Whippets pulled to within 7-3 in the sixth, but St. Vincent broke things wide open with four in the bottom of the frame. This time three of the tallies were earned. Brown had the big blow, a two-run single.

Wengert allowed six hits and two unearned runs in his three innings of work. He also went 2-for-2 at the plate.

Brett Richardet had three RBIs for the Indians while Kutz scored three runs.

Russell, Buller and Joe Stout all had two hits for Ellington. Russell, a sophomore, was the losing hurler despite pitching well. He allowed four runs (one earned) and three hits in four-plus innings.

"Errors just caught up to us today," said Ellington coach Dan Hoffman, whose squad starts six sophomores. "They're young kids, but you can't make that many errors in a game like this."