Johnson, Warren hit just enough to trip Shapiro, Wheeling

Offense hadn't been a problem for Warren the last week or so.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

Heading into Monday's regional play-in game against No. 21 Wheeling, No. 12 Warren had scored 39 runs in its previous three games, all wins.

That's an average of 13 runs per game.

Against Wheeling, the host Blue Devils came nowhere close to hitting that average. But they did do the one thing they set out to do: win.

Collecting only 3 hits, Warren still managed to eliminate Wheeling 3-0. That means Warren (19-11), will take on fifth-seeded Carmel Thursday at 4 p.m. in a regional semifinal at Carmel.

Wheeling, meanwhile, closes out the season at 4-29.

"As long as we score 1 and they don't score any, it doesn't matter how many we score," said Warren right fielder Tim Bodine, who got 1 of the 3 hits.

Bodine also got Warren's only RBI. What further illustrated the Blue Devils' sudden change in fortune at the plate was that 2 runs scored on wild pitches.

Bodine and Jeff Johnson gave Warren a 2-0 lead in the second inning when sophomore Tyler Shapiro of Wheeling (4-29) threw 2 wild pitches within minutes of each other.

Both Bodine and Johnson had reached on walks and advanced into scoring position by stealing bases.

"It was a tough day," Shapiro said. "I just kept thinking, 'I've got to get better.' "

Shapiro did get better as the game went on. Over the final 3 innings, he kept Warren hitless, a nice rebound for someone who was figuring on being a cheerleader for the day.

Shapiro was brought up for the tournament to add depth to the pitching staff. He wasn't counting on doing much against Warren other than supporting his teammates.

But when starting pitcher Steve Yfantis got hit in the calf with a pitch in the second at-bat of the game, the Wheeling coaches were suddenly calling Shapiro's number.

"You don't exactly know what you're going to get when you go with a young guy," Wheeling coach Mike Tice said. "But he battled through everything. The wild pitches were tough, but after he got over that hump, I thought he pitched well for us. We had chances to score and support him and put some pressure on them, but we just didn't do it."

A lot of that had to do with Johnson, who also pitched for Warren.

He went the distance and rolled up 9 strikeouts while giving up 5 hits.

Johnson appeared to get stronger as the game wore on. In both the sixth and seventh innings, he retired the side in order.

"The last few outings my curveball wasn't really working, but today I finally figured it out," said Johnson (4-1). "I felt like everything was working. After we got 1, I kind of felt strong and I was trusting my pitches. As long as we had a lead, I felt pretty comfortable out there."

Of course, the rest of the Blue Devils weren't exactly in their comfort zone.

But they say they're confident their offense will be there next time.

"Our hitting approach wasn't as good today, but those things happen. You just never know with baseball," Warren coach Clint Smothers said. "We had been stressing hitting lately and it had been working for us. We'll go back and work on it some more and we'll be ready for Carmel on Thursday."