Schuckman: Character Schissel shows in wake of heart-breaking loss is why success will follow

CALEDONIA, Mich. — Matt Schissel struggled for good reason to calculate whether the Quincy University baseball players were ready to rebound 40 minutes after a gut punch.

“I’ll be honest,” the first-year Hawks coach said, “I wasn’t ready to go back and play.”

Schissel took at least 25 minutes of that 40-minute gap between games Thursday in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional to lament, sulk and pummel himself just a little for allowing a four-run lead in the ninth inning against Northwood to morph into a 10-5 loss in 12 innings.

After starting pitcher Spencer Walker, who had thrown 93 pitches through eight innings, allowed back-to-back home runs to open the top of the ninth inning, Schissel decided not to summon closer Sam Stephens from the bullpen.

“He was hot,” Schissel said. “He was ready.”

Instead, Walker stayed in the game and got two of the next three batters out and faced David Jeffers, the Timberwolves’ No. 9 hitter who was hitless on the day and had smacked one home run all season, with the chance to send the Hawks into the winner’s bracket.

The move backfired as Jeffers hit a two-run home run to force extra innings.

“I felt like I should have made that change and we would have won the game,” Schissel said. “It took me a little bit to move past that and get ready for Game 2.”

But he did, as did the Hawks. And they reacted the way they have all season to adversity.

The Hawks took a punch, then delivered one with Schissel pulling the right strings to stave off elimination and build momentum for a run at the super-regional.

Quincy rebounded with a 17-4 pummeling of Davenport that made dinner after a grueling day much more appetizing.

“I don’t know if I could have eaten if we had lost,” Schissel said.

Not many involved with the QU program could have.

“It was rough,” said Jay Hammel, the right-hander who pitched a complete game against Davenport. “It took time for everyone to get back in the right frame of mind, but eventually everyone did.”

Including Schissel, who needed a short-term memory in the moment with long-term perspective afterward.

“We’ve talked a lot about you don’t learn something until you do it,” Schissel said. “I learned a lot from that first game.”

Namely, don’t wait too long to make any move with a season on the brink.

“When that got to be a save situation, I had Sam ready in the pen and I should have went straight to him,” Schissel said. “In the back of my head, I’m thinking, ‘Solo shot. OK. They’re not going to do it three more times.’ Well, they did.”

Trailing 5-1, the Timberwolves opened the ninth with Rhett Evans hitting a home run on Walker’s first pitch. Northwood’s Myles Beale followed with a home run on Walker’s third pitch of the inning. That would have been the perfect time to make a move.

Schissel waited. 

A groundout, a single and flyout followed, leaving Walker one out from finishing things off. However, the Timberwolves’ David Jeffers jacked a two-run home run to left field to tie the game. Momentum was on Northwood’s side at that point and Schissel couldn’t change that.

He realized it was too late.

“I told my wife I don’t care how many games I win in my career I will never forget that,” Schissel said. “There have been a couple of moments this year that have slapped me right in the face, and that was one of them.”

Much like his team, Schissel has rebounded each time. He did it again Thursday.

He showcased what is going to make him a highly successful coach in the years to come. He owned the mistake without letting it cripple him.

That sort of character is why he’s in charge and why the victories will outweigh the losses over time and he’ll have championships to celebrate which will push the memory of Thursday’s loss from the forefront of his mind.