nwitimes.com | Posted: Saturday, July 16, 2011 9:00 pm
CHESTERTON | Zach Thorn took a deep breath, calmed his nerves and found exactly the pitch he was looking for to drive the Porter County Storm to victory.
Thorn delivered a pinch-hit two-run double in the sixth inning to give the Storm a 3-2 win over South Bend Eastside and a berth in the championship game of the Babe Ruth 16-18 state tournament at Chesterton High School.
The Storm will play the winner of South Bend Eastside and the Hammond Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon. If the Storm falls, then the final game would be played Monday afternoon in the double elimination tournament.
"I was nervous at the beginning, but I was able to come in the clutch," Thorn said. "I was looking to make contact with anything in the zone. The coaches told me to stay ready and I was ready when they called me."
Thorn's big hit came two innings after South Bend took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning and Porter County coach Nick Doud called on Jordan Landgrebe to close the game for starter Jesse Kellar. Landgrebe retired all nine batters he faced, striking out four and getting his first two batters out on only two pitches.
"It feels great and it's a big deal to get guys out quick like that," Landgrebe said. "It saves pitches, saves the arm and allows me to throw harder later in the game."
Landgrebe has pitched five innings over the last two days and wasn't shy about wanting to contribute to his team's victory on Saturday. As for whether or not the former Valparaiso pitcher would be able to pitch on Sunday, Landgrebe wasn't saying.
"Well, I'll have to ice the arm and then see how it feels tomorrow," Landgrebe said with a smile."
The Hammond Hurricanes emerged out of the loser's bracket on Saturday with a pair of victories, including a dramatic 5-4 extra innings win over Kokomo in the second game of the day. The Hurricanes then knocked off Crown Point 4-1 in the nightcap, with pitcher Garrett Litke picking up both victories for Hammond.
"The Kokomo game was the first time that Garrett had ever thrown a pitch for the Hammond Hurricanes," coach Alex Ramirez said. "My Dad has been following the games and he told me to go with my instincts. Garrett was my instinct and he came through for us."