Mike Assmann just wasn't feeling it. The Auburn senior had already pitched four shutout innings, racked up six strikeouts and allowed just two balls to leave the infield.
Angela Kershner / The Citizen
Auburn pitcher Mike Assmann (20) throws a pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning allowing a base hit and ending a no-hitter against the Baldwinsville Bees in Baldwinsville Tuesday.
Auburn pitcher Mike Assmann (20) throws a pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning allowing a base hit and ending a no-hitter against the Baldwinsville Bees in Baldwinsville Tuesday.
And he wasn't feeling right.
“Up until the fifth I actually thought I was doing pretty bad,” Assmann admits.
So he decided to kick it up a notch.
Auburn's ace threw all eight innings against Baldwinsville and got stronger as the game went on. He finished with 14 strikeouts and allowed one hit - a seventh-inning bloop single - as the Maroons defeated the Bees 2-0 in the first round of the Section III Class AA playoffs.
“After the fifth inning I stopped thinking and started throwing,” Assmann said. “It feels good to throw like that and get a win in a close game. We haven't done it that much this year.”
The 10th-seed Maroons (10-8, 4-8) now have a date with Fayetteville-Manlius (16-5, 10-3) and their lefty starter Cory Nelson could pitch for LeMoyne in the fall if he isn't drafted first. The teams will meet at 4:30 p.m. in Manlius on Thursday.
Nelson allowed two hits and struck out 15 in the team's first meeting, which F-M won 8-1. “He's a tough lefty but we've seen him before and I think he's susceptible to a couple of things,” Gamba said. “We're ready to battle and we're going to play tough. You never what what's going to happen this time of year.”
The Maroons have been involved in 10 one-run games this season. They've lost six of them.
But few times have they been given such a dominant showing on the mound.
“That was the ultimate pitching performance,” Auburn coach T.J. Gamba said. “That's what winning games is all about. He deserves most of the credit.”
Noah Donch provided the big hit for Auburn. With two outs in the top of the eighth, Donch laced an RBI double to left-center field. After an Eric Conway intentional walk, Gomez got a double to drop in, out of the left fielder's reach and another run crossed the plate to give Auburn a 2-0 lead.
In the Maroons' 4-3 victory against Baldwinsville on May 3, Donch had the game-winning hit in Auburn's last at-bat. He has three game-winners on the season.
Although he labored in the early innings, Assmann was able to immediately establish his curveball. The deuce baffled most of the Baldwinsville batters as he piled up seven punch-outs with his off-speed stuff.
“(Catcher Brandon) DeBagio said he had a lot of movement,” Gamba said. “Mike was able to establish the curve early and it completely turned their lineup around. He made some of their better hitters look bad.”
The heart of the Bees' lineup - Eric Manley, Eric Watson and Mike Reed - combined to go 0-for-10 with six strikeouts.
“Sometimes I've thrown my curve from side to side but today there was a lot of downward motion,” said Assmann, who finished with 146 pitches. “That's when it's most effective.”
Assmann didn't allow a hit until there was one out in the seventh inning. Baldwinsville's Nick Tryniski picked up a single that fell in front of right fielder Conway.
But Assmann regrouped immediately by striking out the side.
“I knew I had a no-hitter, but it's not anything you can think about,” he said. “At that point the score was still 0-0.”
At the plate, the Maroons didn't exactly struggle. They had their chances but couldn't put any good wood on the ball with runners in scoring position.
The second inning was their best opportunity.
Conway led off the inning with a single and Chris Gomez followed with a hard-hit single to short. After DeBagio worked a seven-pitch walk to load the bases, Nick Ventura hit a grounder to third and Baldwinsville's Brent Brady cut off the runner at home to pick up the first out of the inning.
Ryan Gleason then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the scoring opportunity.
Auburn mounted two minor threats in the sixth and seventh innings but couldn't manage any runs to give Assmann some breathing room.
“It's unfortunate we didn't take care of business early,” Gamba said. “We had out chances, but our guys came through late when it counted.”
Conway had two hits for the Maroons and Assmann doubled. The Bees' Brad Wright pitched a complete game as well but tired late. He finished with nine strikeouts and allowed seven hits.
Maroons 2
Bees 0
“Up until the fifth I actually thought I was doing pretty bad,” Assmann admits.
So he decided to kick it up a notch.
Auburn's ace threw all eight innings against Baldwinsville and got stronger as the game went on. He finished with 14 strikeouts and allowed one hit - a seventh-inning bloop single - as the Maroons defeated the Bees 2-0 in the first round of the Section III Class AA playoffs.
“After the fifth inning I stopped thinking and started throwing,” Assmann said. “It feels good to throw like that and get a win in a close game. We haven't done it that much this year.”
The 10th-seed Maroons (10-8, 4-8) now have a date with Fayetteville-Manlius (16-5, 10-3) and their lefty starter Cory Nelson could pitch for LeMoyne in the fall if he isn't drafted first. The teams will meet at 4:30 p.m. in Manlius on Thursday.
Nelson allowed two hits and struck out 15 in the team's first meeting, which F-M won 8-1. “He's a tough lefty but we've seen him before and I think he's susceptible to a couple of things,” Gamba said. “We're ready to battle and we're going to play tough. You never what what's going to happen this time of year.”
The Maroons have been involved in 10 one-run games this season. They've lost six of them.
But few times have they been given such a dominant showing on the mound.
“That was the ultimate pitching performance,” Auburn coach T.J. Gamba said. “That's what winning games is all about. He deserves most of the credit.”
Noah Donch provided the big hit for Auburn. With two outs in the top of the eighth, Donch laced an RBI double to left-center field. After an Eric Conway intentional walk, Gomez got a double to drop in, out of the left fielder's reach and another run crossed the plate to give Auburn a 2-0 lead.
In the Maroons' 4-3 victory against Baldwinsville on May 3, Donch had the game-winning hit in Auburn's last at-bat. He has three game-winners on the season.
Although he labored in the early innings, Assmann was able to immediately establish his curveball. The deuce baffled most of the Baldwinsville batters as he piled up seven punch-outs with his off-speed stuff.
“(Catcher Brandon) DeBagio said he had a lot of movement,” Gamba said. “Mike was able to establish the curve early and it completely turned their lineup around. He made some of their better hitters look bad.”
The heart of the Bees' lineup - Eric Manley, Eric Watson and Mike Reed - combined to go 0-for-10 with six strikeouts.
“Sometimes I've thrown my curve from side to side but today there was a lot of downward motion,” said Assmann, who finished with 146 pitches. “That's when it's most effective.”
Assmann didn't allow a hit until there was one out in the seventh inning. Baldwinsville's Nick Tryniski picked up a single that fell in front of right fielder Conway.
But Assmann regrouped immediately by striking out the side.
“I knew I had a no-hitter, but it's not anything you can think about,” he said. “At that point the score was still 0-0.”
At the plate, the Maroons didn't exactly struggle. They had their chances but couldn't put any good wood on the ball with runners in scoring position.
The second inning was their best opportunity.
Conway led off the inning with a single and Chris Gomez followed with a hard-hit single to short. After DeBagio worked a seven-pitch walk to load the bases, Nick Ventura hit a grounder to third and Baldwinsville's Brent Brady cut off the runner at home to pick up the first out of the inning.
Ryan Gleason then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the scoring opportunity.
Auburn mounted two minor threats in the sixth and seventh innings but couldn't manage any runs to give Assmann some breathing room.
“It's unfortunate we didn't take care of business early,” Gamba said. “We had out chances, but our guys came through late when it counted.”
Conway had two hits for the Maroons and Assmann doubled. The Bees' Brad Wright pitched a complete game as well but tired late. He finished with nine strikeouts and allowed seven hits.
Maroons 2
Bees 0
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