Stewart always ready to pitch
Edgewood senior helps squad to 8-0 D-I tournament win.
By Rick Cassano, Staff Writer
MASON — Chase Stewart wouldn't mind pitching every day if he could.
Edgewood High's 6-foot-7 senior right-hander threw 103 pitches in a dominating two-hitter Monday and said he'll be ready to pitch again in relief Wednesday.
"I've always been like that," said Stewart, a Miami University recruit. "When they ask me, I just say, 'I'm good. Put me in.' "
Stewart struck out 11 and allowed just two singles Monday as the Cougar baseball team celebrated its rise to Division I with an 8-0 sectional triumph over Western Brown at Mason.
Austin House had a two-run double and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for Edgewood (17-6), while Dusty Taggart and Michael Johnson each collected two hits and an RBI.
"It all starts and ends with starting pitching, and tonight we got that," EHS coach Brian Caudill said. "Chase showed why he's a Division I prospect. When we play defense, with our starting pitching, I feel we're going to be in the game with just about anybody."
The Cougars' lone error didn't hurt them against the Broncos, a Southern Buckeye Conference squad also making the move to Division I this season.
Western Brown coach Jeff Herrmann said he's got a young team that simply wasn't good enough to overcome Stewart.
"We've probably only seen three or four pitchers of that quality this year," Herrmann said. "I like the way he works the plate. He does a good job of keeping the ball on the outside part of the plate. It seemed like we were always lunging."
Edgewood advances to face third-seeded Mason in the sectional semifinals Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. on the Comets' field, while the Broncos finished 11-11.
Caudill is hopeful junior Jason Edwards will be able to start on the mound for EHS in the next round, though Edwards suffered three facial fractures in a collision with an Indian Hill player last Saturday.
Edwards — also an outfielder and one of the Cougars' top hitters — received medical clearance to play Monday, but Caudill opted to keep him on the bench.
"If he's ready and wants to take the ball Wednesday, we'll give him the ball," Caudill said. "If not, we'll go with Dusty Taggart. We'll just have to wait and see how Jason feels Wednesday."
The Edgewood coach said he only hesitated briefly when considering whether to start Stewart Monday or try to hold him for Wednesday.
"The biggest thing to me was the fact that it's the tournament, and if you lose, you're done," Caudill said. "Chase is also better at bouncing back on three days' rest than Jason is. I know Chase will be ready to start again Friday if we make it that far, and I know he'll be ready to be a closer Wednesday if we need him."
Stewart managed to strand eight Bronco runners, but did have trouble finding the strike zone at times, totaling six walks.
"My breaking stuff was a little off tonight, but I felt like I was throwing the ball pretty hard," Stewart said. "Tonight was a statement game for us. This was our first game in Division I, and we wanted to come out and send a message."
The Cougars notched all eight of their runs in the first three innings against Western Brown right-hander Tim Oberschlake, who faced five batters in the third without recording an out. Teammates Kyle Kissick and Bobby Noeth both threw in relief.
Taggart set the tone with a leadoff double in the bottom of the first. Billy Stevenson sacrificed him to third, and Johnson delivered an RBI single.
"We like to play small ball and put people in motion," Caudill said. "We were out there bunting in the first inning. I think that speaks volumes about how much confidence we have in Stewart."
Mark Braun, Kyle Sigmon and Jon Elder all had RBIs for Edgewood. Josh Crout and Braun both scored twice.
The Broncos' only two hits came from Oberschlake in the second inning and Chris Fowee in the fifth.
"I'm proud of our kids — they will always play hard," Caudill said. "My biggest concern with our team is defense. We're very capable at any point of a three- or four-error game. If we can stay away from that, we can compete with people."
Western Brown 000 000 0 — 0 2 3
Edgewood 134 000 x — 8 8 1
WP — Chase Stewart (6-2); LP — Tim Oberschlake (4-3)
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