Napoleon shuts out Huron in district semifinal

BOWLING GREEN — Huron had an opening, a path to climb back into a baseball game that looked like it had gotten away from the Tigers. Trey Rubinstein's glove got in the way. Huron trailed 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning when Landon Hohler, Tommy Ray and Austin Wasily walked to load the bases with one out. Sam Cox was up next and nearly changed the complexion of the game with a vicious line drive straight back at Napoleon's pitcher. Rubinstein instinctively protected himself with his glove, and the ball landed in leather. The Wildcats star calmly turned to second and completed an inning-ending double play. Instead of a 4-2 game, it stayed 4-0. Huron, disheartened by the turn of events, committed four errors in the seventh and lost 9-0 in a Division II regional semifinal at Carter Park. "I really didn't see anything," Rubinstein said. "He smoked the ball and it just so happened to end up in my glove. I turned around and made the simple throw to second. It was so fast right back at me. "I think it switched the momentum. Everything they had going, it was go get three outs and don't worry about anything." Rubinstein struck out 11 Tigers and threw a two-hit shutout as Napoleon (22-9) advanced to Friday's district final against Padua Franciscan. The Bruins defeated Clear Fork 4-3 in eight innings in Thursday's second game. "The wind went out of our sails on Sammy's (line drive out)," Huron coach Dan Lindsley said. "He drills that up the middle and it scores two pretty easily and it's 4-2. We'd have first and third and one out and (Ben) Davis is up and he's swung a hot bat." Rubinstein, a Division I football recruit who plays center field when he's not on the mound, threw 120 pitches in his complete game. "He's the ace of our staff," Napoleon coach Eric Sprague said. "It's not only his stuff, it's more his moxie. He made a big play there with the double play. Arguably the ball caught him. Gamers make plays and he's a gamer." Huron had only two hits — a single by Austin Wasily in the fourth inning and a single by Dom Muratori with one out in the seventh. "It's not like his speed was anything we haven't seen," Lindsley said of Rubinstein. "He did a good job of mixing us up a little bit and we couldn't barrel him up. The right pitches at the right time. I thought his high fastball was good. We went after it." Rubinstein allowed only three baserunners in the first five innings. "We knew they liked to pull the ball so I tried to work outside with my fastball and bury my curveball and make them chase after it," he said. "It worked until I couldn't locate." Napoleon used some small ball to take a quick 3-0 lead. Rubinstein and Devin Dietrich led off the game with perfect bunt singles that died in the thick grass. Two walks by Huron starter Landon Hohler brought in the first run and Owen Espinosa made it 3-0 with a two-out single. The bunts left a lasting impact on the game. "We were pseudo prepared. The track was a little wet here," Lindsley said. "They were great bunts. Their leadoff guy took a high pitch and bunted it after a strike. That one was a little unexpected." Added Sprague: "It's part of our game. That was key. We had bases loaded early and that put a lot of pressure on them defensively. It was crucial to put a crooked number up in the first inning." Hohler allowed only one hit over the next three innings, but the Tigers (18-13), who scored 37 runs in their first three tournament games, couldn't get anything going. "We said it's nothing we haven't climbed out of before. We just couldn't get the offense going," Lindsley said. "Give Rubinstein credit. He got a little tired toward the end but he kept us off rhythm. He did a good job of quick-pitching us early on. The second time through we hit a little better." Napoleon outhit Huron 11-2 and left the bases loaded twice. Dietrich's double was the big blow in a four-run seventh that delivered the knockout. Huron drew five walks over the last three innings, but nobody scored. "That's a really good lineup and what he did with that lineup was impressive to watch," Sprague said of his pitcher. "He had a good fastball and was able to mix in his curveball. He's been good all year for us. "I'd say it's as a complete game as we've played. All three facets were done at a very high level." Napoleon 300 010 5 — 9 11 1Huron 000 000 0 — 0 2 4 WP: Rubinstein. LP: Hohler 2B: (N) Gerkin, Rubinstein, Dietrich