By Ted Waddell
JEFFERSONVILLE — May 14, 2004 – The Liberty Indians varsity baseball team may not have the best record in the world this year, but one thing’s for sure.
They never call it quits.
In Tuesday’s Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division IV game against the host Bulldogs of Sullivan West, Liberty got shellacked 18-9.
By the end of the first couple of innings, SW (6-7, 4-4 OCIAA) had jumped out to a seven-run lead. The Bulldogs scored two runs in the first, followed by five runs in the second – including a three-run homer by Matt Berger.
In the top of the third, the Indians got one back and in the fourth Liberty (2-10, 0-7 OCIAA) made it a 7-3 ballgame by sending two runners across the plate.
At their turn at bat in the fourth, the Bulldogs started a slugfest by scoring five runs. One of those runs came via a solo home run by Bill Nordenhold.
Liberty fought back for a pair of runs in the fifth, but that glimmer of hope was quickly erased as SW racked up six runs in the bottom of the frame.
The Indians scored one run in the sixth and three in the final frame to close out the game’s tally sheets.
Berger started out on the mound for SW. Teammate Will O’Brien pitched the last two innings.
Liberty went through three hurlers: Mike Kushetsky, Jason Garritt and Corey Van Kuren.
Nordenhold finished the afternoon with six RBI. Mike Barrett recorded three hits and two RBI for the Bulldogs.
“Sullivan West is by far the strongest team we’ve faced this year,” said Jim O’Connor, coach of the relatively young Indians squad. “They batted the ball and made all the routine plays.”
Notable hits for Liberty included a double by Kushetsky and two hits each for Garritt and Shane Noetzel.
Derek Blume added two hits and two RBI for the Indians.
“Offensively, there’s nothing to complain about,” SW Coach Kurt Schiebe said.
“We hit the ball, scored multiple runs and batted around [the order] in a couple of innings,” he added.
“But defensively, our pitchers fell behind too many batters . . . one and zero, two and nothing and three to zero counts.”