BUTLER, Pa. (EYT/D9) — From the moment Logan Lutz took the ball on an overcast Monday evening, the left-hander was in complete command.
Lutz was efficient, effective and got some big help from his defense behind him, tossing a three-hit shutout as the Clarion-Limestone baseball team edged Moniteau, 1-0, at Michelle Krill Field at Historic Pullman Park.
Lutz went all seven innings — the first seven-inning complete game for the Lions this season — striking out seven and walking just one on the way to the victory.
(Pictured above, Clarion-Limestone pitcher Logan Lutz, right, and catcher Jake Smith pose after the Lions’ 1-0 win over Moniteau on Monday evening.)
“Stretching and then tossing, I just felt like it was going to go well,” Lutz said. “I felt like my fastball was going to pop.”
With Jake Smith calling the pitches behind the plate, Lutz used that fastball to set up his equally effective off-speed stuff to keep a potent Moniteau lineup off balance.
Lutz began the game by piling up strikeouts. He had all seven of his punch outs in the first four innings, including a four-strikeout frame in the bottom of the third.
Even as the Warriors adjusted and put the ball in play, Lutz stayed sharp. He also got some key plays behind him.
Tommy Smith gobbled up several ground balls at short and made pinpoint throws across the diamond to nip runners at first. Centerfielder Kohen Kemmer made a diving catch and left fielder Jack Craig snagged a bullet off the bat of Dawson Cook with runner on second in the bottom of the sixth to potentially save the game.
“That’s two games in a row (Lutz) has been dialed in,” said Clarion-Limestone coach Bill Smith. “I thought we played great defensively behind him. He’s just turning it up right now.”
Clarion-Limestone (8-4) needed every zero that Lutz put up because Cook was just as impressive in quieting the Lions’ bats.
Cook went 6⅓, giving up just one run on five hits and struck out three.
Clarion-Limestone pushed a run across in the top of the third when Jesse Siwiecki singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lutz, advanced to third on a double by Tommy Smith and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Kemmer.
That run held up.
“I like pitching under pressure,” Lutz said. “It gets the adrenaline going and helps my fastball. I was trying to mix it up. That’s where my catcher and I (Jake Smith) talk. We work out a plan to get them swinging and chasing and get that weak contact. And that’s what we got.”
The best chance for Moniteau (9-5) came in the bottom of the sixth inning when Ian Ross doubled with two outs before Cook barreled up a ball, but sharply lined out to Craig in left.
“I give the credit to the defense,” Lutz said. “We have a very talented team and our hitting will come around. But the defense, that’s what’s key.”
The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for Moniteau.
In those seven victories, the Warriors had given up just six runs and put up four shutouts. Moniteau had just beaten Clarion-Limestone, 15-4, last Thursday.
The pitching was just as good.
Clarion-Limestone’s was just a little better.
“We’re just going to put it behind us,” Cook said. “We did barrel some up, but hit them right at people. In the end they made plays and we couldn’t find the holes when we needed them. They’re a really good team over there. We’re a good team and we’ll bounce back.”
Both teams have a heavy slate in the week, the final one of the regular season.
Clarion-Limestone and Moniteau both have four games in five days.
The plan wasn’t for Lutz to go the whole way. But he was pitching so well, Bill Smith said, he just couldn’t take him out of the game.
“It was a tough decision,” Coach Smith said. “I would have liked to have him Thursday against a really good Oil City team.”
All season Smith has been reluctant to stretch out a starter, instead opting to mix and match his four primary hurlers in each game — Lutz, Tommy Smith, Kemmer and freshman Paul Craig.
“That’s our strategy,” he added. “We’re not trying to overthrow anybody. We want them ready and at their strongest.”
Lutz has gotten physically stronger, adding muscle with his work in the weight room. The junior has also added significantly to the velocity of his fastball.
“He’s really worked his butt off,” Smith said. “He didn’t play basketball. He worked. He got himself on a weight program and a diet program and he’s gained like 30 pounds. The work he is putting in now is paying off big. He and Tommy both are two guys who throw in the mid- to high-80s. If they’re on, they’re gonna be hard to beat.”
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