Kattau sparks Wildcats to season opening sweep of Baldwin

Junior Kolby Kattau records one of his four hits last Tuesday against Baldwin. Kattau had a bases-clearing clearing triple in the seventh that broke open a tie game to help the Wildcats to a sweep.

BALDWIN CITY — The Louisburg baseball team recorded a few firsts during its season opener last Tuesday against Baldwin.

The Wildcats got their first win of the season, their first doubleheader sweep —  and in the process — head coach Kade Larson got his first career head coaching victory.

That first win came in dramatic fashion as the Wildcats rallied for four runs in the seventh to defeat Baldwin, 7-4. The nightcap was a little more strange as Louisburg scored 12 runs on just one hit as the Wildcats cruised to a 12-1 victory to complete the sweep.

“It was a great team win,” Larson said. “Everyone contributed. We were able to get a lot going offensively and had some timely hitting paired with some great situational bunting. The guys played great and I’m glad we were able to complete the sweep.”

Louisburg found itself down 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning, but the Wildcats got the rally started with one out thanks to the lower part of its lineup.

The. No. 6 and 7 hitters, George Reichart and Cade Driskell opened with singles and Reichart scored on an RBI single from Mack Newell.

Freshman Declan Battle, the No. 9 hitter, worked a walk to load the bases. After a Louisburg strikeout, junior Kolby Kattau came to the plate and broke the game open with a bases-clearing triple.

“The lower part of our lineup really stepped up,” Larson said. “After getting those first game jitters out in the first part of the game, everyone settled down and did what they knew how to do. I was really proud of how they did.”

Kattau then was able to close out the game on the mound. He pitched the final four innings and gave up just one earned run, while striking out six.

Senior Trevin Lohse started the first three innings and gave up two runs, both which were unearned and struck out four.

“Kolby really helped us,” Larson said. “He did a great job on the mound. The defense was playing him heavy on the pull side and he got a pitch away and went with it perfectly. After he hit that triple to take the lead I told him this game is yours on the mound so go win it and he did.”

For the game, Kattau and senior Matt Madison led the Wildcat offense with three hits each, while Newell had 2 RBIs in his first varsity game. Madison and Battle also had a run batted in.

In the nightcap, the Wildcats got a strong pitching performance from Brandon Doles as the Wildcat junior nearly went four innings as he gave up just the one run and struck out six. 

Junior Maverick Rockers came in to pitch the final inning-plus to secure the win for Louisburg.

As for the 12 runs on one hit performance, a lot of things worked in the Wildcats’ favor for that to happen. Baldwin committed five errors on the night, walked seven and the Wildcats were hit by a pitch three times.

Kattau provided the Wildcats’ lone hit, which was a double, and also had 3 RBIs in the contest.

“We did a great job of seeing pitches and getting runners on was a huge key in keeping the pressure on,” Larson said. “Our guys were very opportunistic and put the ball in play and Baldwin had a few errors that we struck big on. We also had three stolen bases to get guys into scoring position which helped a lot, as well. It is not a stat I ever thought I would see in a baseball game, but a win is a win and we don’t care how it happens.”

Piper sweeps Louisburg in makeup contest

It was supposed to be its season opener, but thanks to inclement weather, Louisburg had to reschedule its game with Piper.

That road trip didn’t turn out to be an enjoyable one Friday as the Wildcats fell in both games of the doubleheader, 7-5 and 9-7.

“I loved that we never gave up,” Larson said. “We had guys on the bases all night long. We just couldn’t get them in to score. We were in both games until the end and I was proud of how my guys kept battling until the last out. A few errors early in each game ended up being the difference at the end. We’ll clean those up and be ready to go for the next game.”

Three Louisburg errors haunted the Wildcats despite getting out to a good start in the opener. Louisburg scored five runs in the first two innings, but were shutout the rest of the way.

Piper scored two in the first, two in the second, two in the fourth and another in the sixth to get the win.

The Wildcats were swinging the bat well early on as junior Brandon Doles hit a 2-run home run to put the Wildcats up.

Freshman Declan Battle followed suit for first varsity home run – a 2-run shot – that helped extend the Louisburg lead.

Battle, along with Trevin Lohse, George Reichart and Matt Madison, each had two hits for Louisburg.

In the nightcap, the Wildcats were forced to play catch-up from the start as Piper scored four times in the first two innings and they had to overcome three errors.

Kolby Kattau, Doles, Lohse and Newell each had three hits for Louisburg, while Doles finished with 2 RBIs.

The Wildcats were down 9-1 in the seventh inning, rallied to score four runs, but it wasn’t enough as the Pirates were able to hold on.