59ers hang on for win at Notre Dame

Updated: May 9, 2011 10:48PM

SOUTH BEND — In a game riddled with errors, pass balls, hit batters, and even a balk, two key defensive plays in the last inning Monday were the difference for Andrean.

First, leftfielder Cameron Cooper threw out Naperville Central’s Conor Philbin at the plate for the second out of the seventh inning, preserving the 59ers’ one-run lead.

On the next pitch, Andrean second baseman Jeremy Wright made a diving stop of a Derrick Avers liner up the middle and flipped the ball to second for the third out and a 4-3 Andrean win at the University of Notre Dame’s Jake Kline Field.

“Our defense made some bad plays, but then made some real good plays,” said Andrean coach Dave Pishkur.

Up 4-2 to start the seventh, Andrean starter Zac Ryan gave up a hit, hit the next batter, then walked the bases loaded. With one out, Central’s Jimmy Nashert lined a hit into left, scoring one run. Redhawks coach Bill Seiple decided to send Philbin from second base with the tying run, but Cooper came up firing.

“I saw the third base coach waving him, so I was like, ‘I know I’m going to get him,’” said Cooper, who was gunned down at home himself in the second inning. “I just went for it and threw it as hard as I could on a line.”

Ryan went the distance, pitching around six walks, two pass balls, a wild pitch, an error, and a balk in the sixth inning that pushed across a run, to earn the win against the defending Class 4A state champions from Illinois.

“Some good things, some bad things, but ultimately, we beat a real good program,” said Pishkur, whose team is Indiana’s two-time defending Class 3A champs. “We could have saved (Ryan) for the conference championship game on Thursday or pitch him against the defending state champions of Illinois. We thought this would be a better test for him to get ready for tournament time, so we got a lot out of this game.”

Tyler Ochi went 3-for-3 for the 59ers (14-3) and Zach Goldasich drove in two runs in a three-run third inning to end Central starter Nashert’s day on the mound early.

Nashert hit the first two batters of the inning, then gave up back-to-back singles.

Nashert finished with two hits at the plate, and Ross Murphy went 3-for-4 to lead the Redhawks (15-7).

“We had lots of opportunities,” Seiple said. “(Ryan) has a real live arm, and as he gets command of the strike zone, he’s going to be very good. We battled and needed just one more hit to break it open, but we just didn’t get it.”

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