Starting pitchers getting tagged of late

It all started on Monday this week.

Kirk Engelkens didn't have his stuff against Dakota and that, along with Milledgeville/Polo's lack of clutch hitting, helped Dakota all but secure an NUIC-East title outright.

Indians coach Britton Kauffman said that Dakota has never beaten Engelkens more than once in a season. That changed on Monday.

"Kirk's awesome. He's such a great pitcher and I said at the beginning of the year that he was a stud and that they were going to be loaded," Kauffman said. "In four years that I've faced Kirk, he's pitched six out of the eight games we've faced him. ... This is my fourth year of coaching, we've never beaten Milledgeville twice. ... And we got to him this year, and any time you get eight or nine hits off of Kirk, you had a pretty good day at the plate."

Not to pick on the 2009 J-S Boys Basketball Player of the Year, but Friday wasn't any better for the senior.

Engelkens gave up seven hits and three earned runs against Orangeville. Milledgeville/Polo coach Jeff Sands had to talk to Engelkens a few times just to keep his confidence up as the team was close to losing an upset against the Broncos.

Engelkens didn't get much help from his defense, which seemed to agitate the senior pitcher.

"He gets frustrated, he was getting a little frustrated and as a pitcher you can't let it show if somebody makes a mistake behind you," Sands said. "There's no one perfect on the baseball field. No one is perfect. It's my job to correct them.

"I suppose if there's any pitcher out there that's never thrown a ball or walked anybody, I suppose he can get upset, if there's a mistake made behind him.

"If you find him, let me know. I'd like for him to play for me."

Speaking of Orangeville, Broncos' ace Riley Kubatzke was called upon to relief Kyle Werkheiser and come out with the save.

Clearly, that didn't happen.

Kubatzke gave up three earned runs and surrendered five hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. Like Engelkens, the defense's errors cost Orangeville severely.

But both aces were called upon, and both didn't provide what could have been better results.

Enter Saturday with Lena-Winslow junior ace Seth Cory against Forreston. Cory was called up to in relief of Tommy Rothschadl, after the sophomore gave up two hits to open up the sixth inning.

Cory gave up two runs, three hits and a walk in the sixth and seventh innings.

"Yeah, he's been having problems with his left shoulder," Lena-Winslow coach Tom Smargiassi said. "I'm not sure if that bothered him at all. I think Seth made a few good pitches, but it was kind of a tough spot to put him in with nobody out (in the sixth).
"He didn't necessarily get it done on the mound like I though he would, but he led us off in the inning with a double himself."