A preview of this week’s article in Inside Publication’s Booster.
By Jack Lydon
The DePaul Prep Rams ran into Columbia and its star pitcher Dominic Voegele in Peoria on Friday afternoon losing 9-0 in IHSA 2A baseball semi-final. The powerful Rams lineup could barely touch him. When then they did, bad breaks killed a couple potential rallies.
Columbia got to the Rams’ ace Dylan Kaminski with a couple early runs. Dylan kept it close but Columbia broke it open for a six-run sixth inning.
Dominic (Dom) Voegele, was the story. It was a pitching masterpiece. He turned off the red-hot Rams offense like a switch. 92 pitches and 66 strikes. That’s pretty good. He was on the plate and keeping the ball down. I got a text message from a friend watching on the internet, “his slider is pretty good.”
“I thought I pitched well enough to win. And then Brennan [Weik] calling the game back there really help. The defense making plays and the bats played a huge roll today,” Dom Voegele said in understated fashion after the game.
The plan the whole game was to “throw strikes make them hit it, let the defense make plays and keep the pitch count as low as possible.
I was throwing “the normal four-seam fast ball was working today. I threw a lot more sliders today that usual. Then get the curveball over with a first pitch strike. And the change-up to the lefties,” continued Voegele.
The Columbia Eagles were in this game last year but Voegele didn’t pitch that game. The Eagles lost that game 4-1 to the winner of Fridays other semi-final game, Joliet Catholic.
“Being here last year and going through the routines, and coming to the field, I don’t think we had the shock and awe of it this season. We knew what to expect. We had a bunch of the guys from last year’s team back this year. Having that experience is definitely an advantage,” said Eagles head coach O’Donnell.
It’s not like the Rams had no chance. Rams’ senior right-hander Dylan Kaminski was getting people out. Five and two thirds with nine strike outs. When he wasn’t striking batters out, they were getting hits, ten in all. Despite the hits, Kaminski limited the damage to three runs in five innings.
In the bottom of the third, DePaul’s Cameron Klein lead off with at single. Carter Levine reached on an error. No one out and the Rams in business. Levine stole second. Addison Latke struck out and now the top of the order. AJ Garcia crushed a line drive to the first baseman Drake Whittenbrink who quickly doubled up Levine off second.
“Drake was in a little bit. That play might have been a little different if we had moved him back. Baseball is a pretty funny game sometimes. We were bailed out with some pretty solid defense,” said O’Donnell.
“That’s a good team. We knew they were going to throw Dom. We were just hoping we could put some good balls in play. We hit the ball hard; we hit the ball well. We had some good at bats. They just didn’t fall. Congratulations to Columbia. We wish them nothing but the best,” Rams’ head coach Sam Colon said.
“I don’t think we were that far off today. The ball just did not roll our way a couple times. Our guys came out and competed. They showed pride for the school and our community. They did all they could. They left it all out there. For sure,” Colon continued.
“I don’t think the scene gets to them. They realize [now] that it takes a little bit more focus than they might have thought to continue to put good bats on balls against Dom. He throw really, really well. He threw all his pitches for strikes. It was really hard to get into a rhythm offensively. We did get some runners on. It felt like we were just a double away from getting right back into this one. AJ hit a hard a sharp line drive and we get doubled off. If the ball is over his head there and it’s a three, two game at that point.”
“A lot could have changed in baseball right there.”
That’s what happens in high school baseball. One runs into a great pitcher and in a one game series, the season is over. The Rams move on to face Quincy Notre Dame (35-2, 8-0) in the third-place game. Senior pitcher Robert Rivera will take the mound for the Rams.
