Vikings pitcher pulls inside job on Jackson

ST. CHARLES — Jackson junior Andy Winkleblack said his team had a fairly accurate scouting report on Francis Howell ace Zack Gronek entering Tuesday's Class 4 sectional game.

The junior said the Indians knew the left-handed hurler wasn't going to try to overpower them, but instead would try to hit his spots consistently and mix in a decent breaking ball with his fastball.

But Winkleblack said one important note about Gronek wasn't in the report.

"He threw a lot to our right-handed guys inside," Winkleblack said. "That's one of the things the scouting report really didn't say. We were kind of expecting it more outside."

Gronek effectively worked the Indians' lineup inside. The left-handed senior tossed a complete game, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits to help state-ranked Francis Howell past Jackson 8-3.

Jackson (12-12) was eliminated from the state playoffs. Francis Howell (22-3) advanced to a quarterfinal appearance against Parkway South (16-6) on Thursday.

"The majority of the lineup, I went ahead and wanted to work inside with the fastball," Gronek said. "I wanted to get in on their hands and fist them out a little bit. With some of their hitters I used a curveball, but to the majority I used a fastball.

"It felt really good to get the win. You've got to tip your cap to the other team. They really came out good. When I made a mistake, they capitalized. Overall, our team played good. Their team played good. I'm just happy to be out on top."

Gronek improved to 8-0.

Winkleblack, who batted third in the lineup, had success against Gronek. The junior went 3-for-3, including two singles and an RBI double. He also scored two runs. The rest of the Indians' lineup had a more difficult time, going a combined 3-for-22.

"We knew this was a good ball team and we needed to come out on top of our game," Winkleblack said.

Jackson coach Rob French added: "We had a pretty good idea [Gronek] was going to be the one on the mound. We had talked to several people who had seen him throw throughout the year, so we had some information on pitches and things he tries to do to hitters. For the most part, it was pretty accurate. We knew what we were getting into."

Caleb Hosey started the game on the mound for Jackson. He struggled with his control in the first inning, hitting two batters and walking one. That, combined with an error by his defense, helped Francis Howell push across two runs in the first.

Jackson tied it 2-2 in the third inning. Blake Reiminger walked with two outs. He scored when Winkleblack stroked an RBI double down the left-field line. An error helped the Indians score their second run.

"I kind of left another ball over the plate, and again he [Winkleblack] capitalized," Gronek said. "You've just got to tip your cap to him. He had a good approach today and he definitely executed the way he needed to."

Francis Howell came right back, pushing a run across in the bottom half of the third on an RBI double by James Allen to take a 3-2 lead. But Jackson battled back to tie it 3-3 when Winkleblack singled and the next batter, Michael Mouser, stroked an RBI triple to right field.

Francis Howell ended up putting the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth inning when it scored five runs on four hits and two Jackson errors. The big hit during the rally was a two-run homer over the fence in left field by Austin Buenemann.

"I think part of it was that we were playing it pretty close at that time and we made a few errors in the field," French said. "That gave them a little more confidence and little bit more momentum. And once they got some of that momentum going, it was a lot easier to step into the box.

"[Playing flawless defense] was one of the five things we talked about coming into today. We knew we had to play tough defense. We could only give them 21 outs."

Gronek retired the side in order in the sixth then got a double play in the seventh to end the game and Jackson's season.

Jackson also was hurt by two baserunning mistakes in both innings it scored. Matt Lang was picked off first in the third inning right before the two-run, two-out rally. Mouser was picked off third in the fifth after tripling to tie the game.

"We talked about in our scouting report that their catcher is going to throw behind baserunners," French said. "Even though you know he's going to do it, sometimes you get into the same kind of habits you've taken in all season. ... It's tough making that adjustment."

Jackson 002 010 0 — 3 6 4

Francis Howell 201 050 x — 8 7 1

WP — Zack Gronek, 8-0. LP — Caleb Hosey, 5-4. HR — Austin Buenemann (FH). 3B — Michael Mouser (J). 2B — Andy Winkleblack (J), Nathan Orf (FH), James Allen (FH). Multiple hits — Jackson: Winkleblack 3-3. Records — Jackson 12-12, Francis Howell 22-3.