Baseball: Ohlwein, Milewski help Lakes make history
Maybe they didn't tell Lakes pitcher Tim Ohlwein that he was starting against a Carmel Catholic team that had won 10 straight.
The senior retired 11 Corsairs in a row on Thursday afternoon at the St. Viator sectional before his perfect game vanished with a fourth inning walk. And then his no-hitter, shutout and lead all vanished on a 2-run blast by Carmel junior Eddie Pietschmann.
"It was just one bad pitch,'' Ohlwein noted.
Ohlwein did eventually get his win as Lakes prevailed 5-2.
The save went to Ben Milewski, in more than one sense. Sure, the right-hander got the last six outs of the game but he also dealt a huge blow to the Carmel win streak. Milewski's 3-run double highlighted a 4-run fifth inning.
Lakes (19-14-1) will play for a Class 3A sectional crown - the deepest playoff advancement for any Eagles team as they won in a sectional for the first time.
Lakes will play the home team, St. Viator, in matchup scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday.
"This is like a dream,'' Milewski said. "I got to help my team. It was a 2-1 pitch and he (Carmel's Chris Baumann) had just missed with a curve. I knew I was getting a fastball."
Milewski scored when Simon Varitek followed with a single up the middle.
Ohlwein departed after 5 innings of 1-hit ball.
"We have only four seniors on this team,'' said Lakes coach Ray Gialo. "Tim and Benjamin have helped carry this team. Maybe no one thought we would win, but we thought we had a chance."
One homer and 2 singles did not produce much offense for this hot Carmel club.
"We had a lead,'' said Carmel coach Bill Taylor. "But their pitching shut us down."
The Eagles opened up the scoring in the first. After two were out, Max Swiatek roped a double. The senior came home on the first of 4 RBI from Milewski.
While Ohlwein worked on his perfect game, Lakes threatened to score again in the third but Baumann closed the frame without any runs scoring.
Ohlwein recovered from the Pietschmann's blast and retired the final four batters he faced. The big inning for Lakes started at the bottom of the order. Third baseman Brandon Khan roped a double. Two walks a fly out to right set the table for Milewski's big hit.
"I'm the closer on the team,'' Milewski said. "I'm guessing my reward is to get fed at home."
Milewski retired the first two hitters in the seventh, including Carmel catcher Cooper Johnson on a loud blast to left. Johnson is headed to Mississippi for collegiate baseball next year.
Lakes left fielder Conner Chamernik collared the final flyball of the game and the Eagles had indeed made school history.
Taylor was proud of the way his Corsairs played down the stretch.
"We ran the table to win the conference,'' Taylor noted. "We were 13-9 at the seeding meeting - and we finished 23-10."