HUBER HEIGHTS — You often hear the saying, “you dance with the pratner you brought.”
Jefferson head baseball coach Troy Montenery followed that maxim Friday afternoon at James E. Harrison Field at Huber Heights Wayne High School.
He brought in junior ace Mike Rahrig on the second of back-to-back days to pitch in the fifth inning and with the Wildcats up 6-4.
Rahrig struggled to find the plate and the Redskins took advantage, scoring three big runs in the bottom half and holding on for a 7-6 Division IV Regional title win.
The Wildcats saw their record-setting winning season end at 19-7 and also finished off their first run to the regionals since 1931.
The defending champion Redskins will face Patrick Henry at 4 p.m. Friday at Cooper Stadium.
“It was a decision that you have to make when you get this far and play back-to-back games. He was crucial in getting us here and we felt we needed to go with our best,” Montenery explained. “It wasn’t for lack of effort or determination but it’s a difficult thing for a pitcher to do. I have no regrets for going to him; he did all he could do.”
Rahrig (8-2) struggled with his control, walking 4 batters and allowing a hit. A crucial error also made two of the three runs unearned. The Redskins (21-11) batted around, getting RBIs from Mitchell Boerger (fielder’s choice), Andy Schlietz (single) and a bases-loaded walk to Jay Schulze to get that 1-run lead.
Sidearming southpaw Andy Long (7 IP, 13 hits, 6 earned runs, 2 bases-on-balls, 3 Ks; 109 pitches, 70 for strikes) did the rest. He sent the ’Cats down 1-2-3 in the sixth, getting a diving grab by rightfielder Mitch Ahlers of a liner by Sean Fisher with one down.
In the Wildcat (19-7) seventh, pinch-hitter Ryan Kortokrax singled and Damon Joseph blooped him to third. However, Taylor Hesseling (3-for-4, 2 RBIs) flied out to left to end the inning.
“We had a lot of hits and we hit the ball hard but a lot were right at them. They got a lot of bloopers that we just couldn’t get to,” Montenery noted. “That’s baseball; sometimes it’s the luck of the game. They also made some great diving plays in the field and we made just enough mistakes that cost us. Still, we played as hard and as well as we could; these kids left it all on the field.”
The game started out perfectly for the Wildcats. Cory Bastian beat out an infield hit to second and an out later, starting pitcher Josh Miller (2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI) clubbed a 2-run shot near the scoreboard in left for a 2-0 lead. A double play turned by the Redskins kept it from being worse.
Loramie got runners at second with one down in the home half but failed to score.
They did take a 3-2 edge in the bottom of the second (1 unearned), keyed by a 2-run double to right center by Schlietz and an RBI rip to center by Tregg Barga.
Just as quickly, the WIldcats got momentum back in the third, getting a 2-out solo round-tripper by Aaron Schuerman (2-for-3, 2 runs, 2 ribbies) over the 325-foot mark in left for a 3-3 draw.
A leadoff triple off the top of the fence in center by Jay Schulze chased Miller in the third, bringing in Damon Joseph.  He eventually scored on a bloop hit to left center by Long for a 4-3 lead.
The Red and Black had a big opportunity in the fourth, putting Taylor Hesseling on second (single) and Chris Wilkin on first (walk) with one down. An out later, with a 3-2 count, Sean Fisher singled to right but a strong throw from Ahlers gunned down Hesseling at the plate.
Joseph got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth with two down — those two courtesy of a double play — by inducing Mitchell Boerger to pop out to Rahrig at third.
The Wildcats took the lead and seemingly the “Big Mo” in the fifth. Miller doubled to left and Adam Kraning followed with a bloop to right. Schuerman ripped a single to plate Miller. With two down, Hesseling bashed a 2-run double to left, with the speedy Schuerman beating the relay to the plate to give the Jefferson crew a 6-4 lead.
“Yes, it hurts but I think if you’d have told these kids before the season that we’d end up in the regional finals, I think they’d have been very much OK with that,” Montenery added. “These kids have come a long way; they were 11-9 last spring. We lose three seniors: Damon, Chris and Adam; and they are all good ones. Still, we have 11 of our top 14 back for next spring and I’m sure we’ll come back as an even bigger threat.”