Like Schis and like that: QND right-hander refuses to give in, strikes out 13 in regional title victory

QUINCY — Given the lead for a second time in Saturday’s Class 2A regional championship game, Quincy Notre Dame right-hander Jake Schisler vowed he was not giving it up.

“I think those might have been my exact words,” Schisler said.

He had no plans to do it alone either.

“I said to myself that I was going out there and let them hit it and trust my fielder’s behind me,” the senior said.

Even so, his fielder’s didn’t have to do much. After Brady Kindhart’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth inning have the QND baseball team a one-run advantage, Schisler retired the final six Pittsfield batters he faced, including striking out the side in the seventh inning to cement a 2-1 victory at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield.

It was his first seven-inning complete game and first double-digit strikeout game this season as he finished with 13 Ks against just two walks.

“Jake just let it hang out today,” QND coach Rich Polak said. “We’ve been particularly cautious with him all year on his pitch count, and he didn’t want to come out. Sometimes guys get to a point where they’re a little tired, but he just had that bulldog mentality to finish this one.”

That determined attitude made him mad he allowed a run in the fourth inning, especially since it happened with two outs.

The Saukees’ Justin Pennock singled with one out in the fourth inning and was still at first base after Schisler struck out Timmy Hull. Clayton Reinhardt, playing first base with Brennan Tomhave on the mound, drove a two-ball, one-strike pitch into right-center field for an RBI double that tied the game at 1.

Schisler felt it was an aberration.

“They only barrelled up a couple of balls that I made a mistake on and left right over the plate,” Schisler said. “I was feeling pretty good, and I know when I’m throwing it where I want to I’m going to get outs.”

The next inning, the righty allowed a leadoff single to Pittsfield’s Luke Saxe, who moved to second on Tomhave’s sacrifice bunt and took third on Nolan Daniel’s groundout. Schisler stranded Saxe there by striking out Konner Allen.

The normally stoic Schisler responded with a demonstrative fist bump and a barbaric yowl.

“You have to get something going,” Schisler said. “It just felt dead. I tried to use that momentum, roll some things around and see if people respond. Right after that is when we took the lead. It obviously worked.”

Polak felt the energy change after the outburst.

“On the mound, he’s always been that cool cat who is going to get out there, do his job and move on,” Polak said. “But our guys needed that fire from him today.”

They simply followed Schisler’s lead.

“It was nice to see him be this good,” QND third baseman Brady Kindhart said.