ALTAIR — Shiner’s Carson Schuette was unhappy with a called strike on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Schuette made sure to take matters into his own hands.
“I got a called strike on a curveball and I didn’t really like it,” Schuette said. “He just hung me a changeup and I hit it as hard as I could.”
Schuette’s ball carried over the head and just out of the reach of a diving Weimar center fielder Clayton Zinnante for an RBI triple that sparked the Comanches’ 2-0 Game 2 regional quarterfinal win over Weimar on Saturday at Rice Consolidated field.
Shiner swept the best-of-three series from its District 29-2A rival and improved to 27-4 on the season.
The Comanches moved into the regional semifinals against Mumford, which swept Harper in its regional quarterfinal series.
The best-of-three regional semifinal series will be played at La Grange High School. Game 1 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday. Game 2 and 3, if needed, will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Keenan Hailey started Shiner’s decisive rally with a one-out single and scored on Schuette’s triple. Schuette scored on a sacrifice fly by Bryce Nerada.
“We had one good inning each game,” said Shiner head coach Daniel Boedeker, whose team scored all of its runs in the seventh inning of a 7-0 Game 1 win.. “The kids just trusted themselves. The same as the first game. They didn’t panic. You’ve got to have somebody be a spark plug and we had some kids step up today.”
Shiner pitcher Drew Wenske and Weimar starter Brady Henke were locked in a scoreless tie through five innings.
Wenske yielded three hits and had six strikeouts. He allowed only two runners to get past first base in the final six innings.
The Comanches backed Wenske by turning two double plays and with a diving catch in right field by Kaiden Boothe that prevented an extra-base hit.
“I got command of my fastball and started throwing a lot of strikes,” said Wenske, who has signed with Texas-Permian Basin. “We all just started making plays.”
“I thought both teams played really good defense throughout the series,” Boedeker added. “I thought all the pitchers did a really good job. It’s tough to string hits together against their guy. Our guys did a good job on our end of it.”
Henke allowed only four hits through five innings and was helped by excellent defense by third baseman Hudson Ervin.
“We were just going to try and keep the good vibes rolling and hit them in the mouth,” said Henke, who has signed with Dodge City Community College. “They did a good job and played clean baseball. You just don’t always end up on top.”
Weimar (14-17) had an opportunity to score in the first inning when Henke reached on Shiner’s lone error, Wyatt Lacina walked and both runners moved up on a sacrifice by Ervin.
After a strikeout, Henke attempted to steal home, but was tagged out by Nerada in a close play at the plate.
“We’ve exceeded expectations getting here,” said first-year Weimar head coach Colton Maiorka. “It had to be the No. 1 team to take us out, I can promise you that. Our kids played hard, they fought all the way to the end. They did everything I asked this year. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Shiner, which beat Weimar twice in district play, defeated Mumford in last year’s regional final to clinch its second consecutive trip to the state tournament.
“It’s definitely hard to beat a team four times in baseball,” Schuette said. “You just have to find a way to get it done every time.”
Class 2A Regional Quarterfinal
Game 2
Shiner 2, Weimar 0 Weimar 000 000 0 — 0 3 1 Shiner 000 002 x — 2 6 1 W: Drew Wenske. L: Brady Henke. Highlights: (W) Henke 2-for-3; Derek Rees 1-for-2. (S) Wenske 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K; Carson Schuette 2-for-3, 3B, R, RBI; Keenan Hailey 1-for-3, R; Cale Shows 1-for-2. Records: Weimar 14-17; Shiner 27-4.
