BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
WABASH — Carson Paulik doubled and homered and drove in four runs, and Ethan Medina also homered as part of a three-hit, three-RBI game as the Rochester baseball team drubbed host Southwood 15-1 in five innings on April 26.
Leadoff hitter Gavin Young added two hits and three RBIs as part of a 14-hit Zebra attack. Landen Bumford had two singles and a double. Tanner Reinartz singled twice and had an RBI. Brayden Zink singled and drove in two runs, and Luke Hunting singled and walked and drove in a run. Jake Seuferer contributed an RBI.
“Hitting is contagious in my opinion,” Paulik said afterwards. “And once you see a couple, it gets rolling. You find gaps. You find holes.”
Rochester improved to 3-0 in the Three Rivers Conference and bounced back from a loss to Logansport the previous day in which they were shut out.
Southwood dropped to 0-3 in the TRC.
Aaron Huffman allowed an unearned run in the first inning before blanking the Knights over the last four. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out four. He held star Southwood catcher Mo Lloyd hitless in two at-bats, including a strikeout with two men on and nobody out in the first inning.
“We didn’t like Mo coming up there with two on and no out,” Rochester coach Cory Good said. “So big strikeout there. … Just try to keep him off-balance, make him hit our pitch and not his pitch. And we were able to do that today. Huffman is just consistent and efficient. … Another solid outing for Huff today.”
Already leading 3-1, Rochester sacked Southwood pitchers Blayne Hamilton and Quintin Coe for 12 runs in the fourth.
“I just think we got a little more disciplined at the plate,” Good said. “First inning, I think, three-hole hitter, four-hole hitter and six-hole hitter all swung at the first pitch. All got out. So it was just like that. We saw the Hamilton kid last year. He kept us off-balance for awhile, and we ended up having to win 3-2 on a walk-off double in the eighth (by Tarick McGlothin). So we just preached it again: Be disciplined at the plate and make sure we’re getting pitches we can drive. I just thought we did a better job of that later in the game.”
Young singled home a run, Paulik had an RBI double, Reinartz had an RBI groundout to the catcher, Seuferer reached on an error that scored a run, and Medina hit a two-run homer to make it 9-1.
Coe took over for Hamilton on the mound, but Coe walked Zink and Hunter Campbell before giving up Hunting’s RBI single. Bumford’s single loaded the bases.
Young’s second hit of the inning was a two-run single to make it 12-1. Paulik then added his second hit of the inning, scorching a three-run homer to left to make it 15-1.
“To be honest, I think I’ve proved myself a little bit,” Paulik said of his progression from the JV in the first week of the season to the varsity. “But I’m really proud of where I’m at at this point.”
Southwood went on to win their Class 1A sectional. They were the only TRC team to win a sectional title in 2023.
Rochester 15, Southwood 1 (5 innings)
Rochester 102 (12)0 – 15 14 2
Southwood 100 00 – 1 3 5
WP – Aaron Huffman (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K)
LP – Blayne Hamilton (3 ⅓ IP, 9 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 K)
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