Wiewel, Klauser combine to quiet Panthers as no-hitter leads to Raiders’ victory

QUINCY — The plan was in place. All Abram Wiewel and Samuel Klauser had to do was execute it.

The two Quincy Notre Dame right-handed hurlers did so to near perfection as they combined to no-hit Palmyra in a 7-0 victory Tuesday at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield.

Wiewel started and pitched the first two innings, striking out five batters in the process. Klauser worked the final five innings and finished off the no-no. The Panthers’ only baserunners came via four walks and an error.

“I felt in command and comfortable the whole game,” Klauser said.

Wiewel had not pitched since throwing 82 pitches against Quincy High School on March 22. He was ineligible to pitch in the March 26 game against Hersey because he had not met the four-day rest minimum as required by the IHSA after throwing at least 76 pitches. Tuesday’s game was the Raiders’ first since then.

“I haven’t thrown off a mound in a game in almost a week and a half, so it was good to go out there, face non-teammates in the box and get a feel for things,” Wiewel said.

QND coach Rich Polak said his goal was to get Wiewel some live reps ahead of Saturday’s start against Jacksonville while also not overextending him.

“We pieced it together,” Polak said. “We were trying to get Abram some work in before the weekend, and we knew Samuel was going to come out of the bullpen.”

As soon as Wiewel took the mound at the start of the game, Klauser began prepping himself.

“I had all my stuff planned out and was ready to go, so I felt 100 percent,” Klauser said. “That worked nice instead of just getting thrown out there.”

Klauser’s five hitless innings on Tuesday followed the 3 ⅓ scoreless frames he pitched against Pleasant Plains on March 25.

“This is two good outings in a row for Klauser, so we’re building on things,” Polak said. “I keep reminding myself and my staff he’s only a sophomore. Physically, he doesn’t look like a sophomore, but he’s starting to learn how to get varsity hitters out and stay in the game a little longer.”

Klauser struck out three, but he induced seven ground ball outs, including three straight to end the game.

“I was good with my curveball early and kind of just threw them off from there,” Klauser said. “Then I could throw a fastball and they were on their heels.”

Palmyra coach Brandon Crisp gave credit to Wiewel and Klauser while also expressing his frustration with his lineup’s inability to generate momentum.

“They threw some pretty good arms at us, but quite honestly, we just didn’t seem like we were ready to hit,” Crisp said. “I don’t know if it was the weather or we were just kind of off-balance, but it wasn’t good enough, and there are no excuses. We need to at least to be able string something together there. We’re too good to be shut out and too good to be no-hit. Back to the drawing board tomorrow.”

Freshman third baseman Rowan Stegeman had three of the Raiders’ eight hits and drove in three runs on a pair of doubles in the third and fifth innings.

“We needed it,” Wiewel said of Stegeman’s offensive output. “A lot of us struggled to hit today. He picked us up and had some big hits for us.”

QND (2-3) hosts Highland on Wednesday, while Palmyra (2-5) will return to the Gem City for a clash with Quincy High School on Thursday.