RallyNorth.net

Unsung Siemering takes charge in Owls opener

Monday, April, 11 By Hector Longo

DERRY, N.H. — Young teams will strikeout too much, kick or fling the baseball around some, and yeah, they will make a mistake or two on the basepaths.

Yesterday on opening day, senior Jake Siemering simply wiped all those Timberlane
transgressions way, slaying host Pinkerton Academy in a five-hit, 1-0 shutout masterpiece.

"It was all the we could ask for from him, and a little bit more," said Owls coach Jamie Fish, whose club hit the field yesterday with seven new starters. "I think he had a little to prove out there, coming off a pretty tough (winless in Division 1) basketball season. So he really was ready to go today."

Siemering's darting fastball sliced the corners of the plate, and when he found the plate with the breaking ball, the Astros simply got caught in the guessing game.

Siemering continues to be a pleasant surprise for Fish.

"You're talking about a kid here that spent the first half of last year with the JV team, and really wasn't getting anybody out," said Fish. "But I needed a pitcher, and so I brought him up. He did a decent job, but this today was just exceptional."

The 6-foot-4 righty had to be that good, as Astro Ryan Feeney matched pitch for perfect pitch.

In the end, the difference was a bad-hop, some Owl small ball and that man again, Siemering.

Pinkerton got on the board in the second, when Brandon Heinze's easy roller caromed off the first-base bag for an infield hit. Matt Grant followed with the perfect sac bunt, and with two outs, Siemering dumped a liner into left-center to chase Heinze home.

"I had no idea how big that hit was going to be," said Siemering, competing in his hast school sports season since he's headed to UNH next year. "I mean, it was important, because we just haven't scored a lot of runs."

With the lead, Siemering mixed fastball and curve, simply refusing to relent with runners on.

"My curve was good when I worked from the stretch, it helped," he said.

In all, the Astros stranded nine. Pinkerton loaded the bases in the sixth, only to have Siemering escape with a strikeout and a tapper to John Pauley at third.

With one out in the seventh, Astro Drew Sutherland tripled to left-center.

"I figured that was it, and that coach was just going to come get me," said Siemering.

But Fish stuck with his senior and was rewarded.

With the infield in, sophomore Ryan McCarthy snared Neil Duggan's wicked two-hopper and held the runner, throwing to first for the out.

Then, Siemering induced an easy fly to right, closing it out.