The mighty men of Moeller came in ranked 3rd in the country along with a 27 game win streak. Well that did not faze the Elder Panthers on this sunny Friday morning in Columbus. Elder hurler Brian Korte started for Elder and was able to shut down the high powered Moeller offense in a 1-0 victory.
Coming into the game Moeller was averaging 12 runs per game in the OHSAA tournament. Korte lasted 6.1 innings allowing four walks, seven strikeouts, but more importantly zero runs. He was replaced in the 7th with one out and two on by Matt Pate, who was able to record his third save of the season.
Elder was able to muster the game's only run in the sixth when Tim O'Connor drove in Jeremy White with a single. The sixth inning run was led by a few miscues for the Moeller defense. After White reached with a single, he was able to reach third on a wild pitch and a passed ball. It is amazing how small segments of the game like those miscues can change not only a game, but a season for a team.
Moeller starting pitcher Daniel Whitehead pitched a great game as well only allowing that one run. The loss was Whitehead's first of the year and second for the team. Congrats to Moeller on a great year and I'm sure they will be looking forward to next year. The team returns nine juniors and has a strong sophomore class that will get them back to the top in the state I'm sure.
I also read how O'Connor broke Elder's season RBI record , which is astounding for how many great baseball players they have had at Elder. In retrospect they have won 12 state titles, so one knows the type of players they have had. He know has 47 going into the state final game. Bart Marchetti had the record previously with 36 in 1994. Elder will now face Lakewood St. Edward in the final on Sunday June 6th at 3 p.m., due to Saturday's postponement.
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