Coalers take down Reed-Custer

Updated: April 10, 2011 6:40PM

The first three hitters in the Coal City lineup-Brandon Tidaback, Austin McLuckie and Cody Onsen--provided the offensive punch and Tidaback delivered the knockout from the mound in the Coalers 12-7 victory Friday over Reed-Custer in the Interstate Eight opener for both teams.

After McLuckie reached base on a misplayed popup in his first at-bat, the sophomore centerfielder ripped an RBI-single, two-run homer and an RBI-double in his next three trips to the plate as Coal City built a 9-2 advantage.

"I've been hitting all right, but I could see the ball really well today,'' said McLuckie, who finished with four RBI and four runs scored.

Tidaback singled twice, drove in two runs and also scored four times, but the biggest contribution from the junior shortstop came late in the game when he relieved starter Brandon Wills in the bottom of the sixth.

Reed-Custer hit three home runs in the inning, including a three-run shot by Anthony Scaglione to cut Coal City's lead to 9-7 with one out. The next batter drew a walk and that prompted coach Jerry McDowell to have Tidaback and Wills switch positions.

"It kind of got scary,'' Tidaback said. "I was thinking I hope we don't let this one slip away. Coach had told me earlier he might use me if the game got tight. Once it got down to the wire, I kind of figured I was going to go in.''

Tidaback struck out two of the first three hitters he faced to end the sixth inning. He induced a groundout in the seventh and ended the game with back-to-back strikeouts.

"I like those situations, I like the nailbiters,'' Tidaback said. "The pressure is on and the game is on the line. You look a lot better when you pull it out.''

"He came in and did a nice job,'' McDowell said. "He had a little more speed on the ball.''

Onsen (3-for-4, four RBI) contributed a two-run single in a three-run seventh as Coal City (4-4, 1-0) made another Reed-Custer rally more difficult with a 12-7 cushion.

"Every time we got close, we couldn't slam the door on them,'' Reed-Custer coach Jerry Cougill said. "They kept coming back.''

"It's a rivalry game, it's a big win for us,'' said McDowell, who added his team is going to "need some arms'' with eight games in the next seven days.

Reed-Custer (7-7, 0-1) hit four home runs, but Cougill wasn't happy with the Comets' defense.

"We simply are not very solid defensively at this time,'' Cougill said. "We've got to play better in big games.''

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