“We couldn’t get anything going because he pitched a heckuva game,” Stratton said after the Falcons finished 15-8. “He went right after us, and we didn’t respond or adjust. He outdueled us.”
Sipple, making his second varsity start, sprinkled three Fenwick hits in the complete-game win, striking out six.
Not bad for a lefty who didn’t find out he was going to start until midway through the day.
“I was very surprised,” Sipple said. “I had no doubts about things because I know I have a great defense behind me.”
He got all the offense he would need before throwing his first pitch.
Brett Neal recorded a one-out single and moved to third on a double by Reid Davis. Senior Ethan Limon lined a shot into right-center to plate both runs for a 2-0 lead.
“We have a bunch of upperclassmen at the top of the lineup, and they figured out a way to get two runs on the board in the first inning by being unselfish,” Madison coach Bob Evick said after his squad improved to 18-7. “I think that allowed him to settle in and relax, and we just played solid.
“He (Sipple) plays the game older than he is and is very mature. There were a couple of times he had his back against the wall, and he worked his way out of it.”
Fenwick cut the deficit to 2-1 in the second when Jared Kauffman reached on an error and scored on a one-out single by Brad Davenport.
The Falcons had limited chances after the second. They had a pair of runners on in the third and one in the fifth and sixth, but Sipple worked out each time. He retired the final five Falcons he faced and 12 of the final 14.
“They didn’t square him up very well,” Evick said. “Our catcher (Cameron Svarda) said he had good life on the ball and things were running away from the hitters, and that made it difficult for them to square it up.”
While the Falcons’ offense was having issues, the defense came up with some big plays to keep the game 2-1.
Alan Nix threw out Madison’s Jesse Jones at the plate in the second inning and pitcher Will Maier worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out spot in the sixth with a strikeout and ground out.
“We told Will to keep it right here because we were going to get to them,” Stratton said. “I had all the faith we were going to bust one loose, we just couldn’t get it done.”
The 11th-seeded Mohawks advance to a sectional final at 5 p.m. on Thursday against No. 3 Waynesville at Eaton. The Spartans outscored Madison 28-2 in two Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye Division contests this spring.
Madison 200-000-0—2-8-1
Fenwick 010-000-0—1-3-4
WP — Tristan Sipple (2-0); LP — Will Maier (5-4). Records: M 18-7, F 15-8
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