Pair of QHS pitchers mow down QND to claim victory during head-to-head clash in SHG Slam

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The first crosstown showdown of the spring took place 110 miles from the Gem City, but it didn’t lack any down-to-the-last-out drama.

With a runner on first base and the Quincy High School baseball team holding a two-run lead in the top of the seventh inning, right-handed reliever Jansen Lawson induced a flyball to right field and struck out Quincy Notre Dame leadoff hitter Gavin Doellman to preserve a 3-1 victory Saturday at the SHG Slam.

Lawson teamed with starting pitcher Brady Lowe, who earned the victory while allowing one unearned run in five innings, to strike out 16.

Lowe struck out 12 and Lawson struck out two in each of his two innings of work. The Blue Devils limited the Raiders to two hits and surrendered a fourth-inning run when a two-out error allowed Logan Sutton to score from third base.

Lowe allowed two hits and two walks, while Lawson allowed one walk and hit a batter.

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils (1-1) tagged Raiders starter Abram Wiewel for two runs in the first inning and tacked on another run in the fifth and made the lead last.

In the first inning, QHS’s Evan Sohn led off by reaching on a fielding error on the infield. Kyle Taylor followed with a single to out runners on the corners, and an error on a delayed double steal attempt enabled Sohn to score the first run. Taylor, who stole second and went to third on a wild pitch, scored on an error on Lowe’s line drive to the right side.

In the fifth, Sohn walked with one out, took second on a sacrifice and scored on Lowe’s single to center field.

Senior catcher Owen Zanger and senior right fielder Garrett Smith had two hits apiece for the Blue Devils as Wiewel allowed one earned run and six hits over five innings with three walks and five strikeouts. Nolan Robb struck out one and walked one in an inning of relief.

Both the Blue Devils and Raiders lost to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin in their other games at the Slam.

SHG handed QHS an 8-4, scoring in five of its six at-bats and cementing its lead with a three-run outburst in the sixth inning. The Blue Devils scored twice in the top of the seventh as Smith hit a two-run home run after Powell led off with a single. However, a popout and a pair of strikeouts ended the game.

Smith finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Taylor went 2 for 4. Taylor allowed two earned runs over three innings, striking out seven and walking none. Sohn allowed two runs in two innings of relief, while Smith surrendered three runs and three walks in one inning of relief.

Against QND, the Cyclones scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first inning and posted a 17-1 victory despite collecting just eight hits. The Raiders’ Ethan Rose allowed four hits, walked three and hit two batters in the first inning, resulting in nine runs and getting pulled without recording an out.

Each of QND’s four pitchers walked three batters with Brody Howe allowing five runs in 1 ⅓ innings and Sam Klauser giving up three runs without recording an out. Nick Spears didn’t allow a run or a hit in 1 ⅔ innings of relief.

QND (0-3) managed three singles from Wiewel, Spears and Cale Linenfelser in the four-inning game.