By Jeff Barthel
It took the Sobieski Skis 16 state tournament trips to make it to the title game.
This afternoon at the Mini Met in Jordan, when the Skis were finally able to make it there, they made it count.
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| Sobieski Skis - 2014 Class C state champions |
Czech’s Skis were led all tourney long by ace pitcher Tyler Jendro. Simply put: The 6-1 righthander out of Royalton, Minn. was …
“Unbelievable,” said Skis centerfielder Beau Hanowski.
Jendro shutout the Region 2 champion Brewers (28-8), going the distance for his fourth complete game of the tournament.
It was a miraculous weekend for Jendro, who blew a sigh of relief after retiring New Ulm’s final batter in a game that truly came down to the wire.
After two quick outs to start the ninth, New Ulm’s Judd Davis reached base on an error. The Brewers’ Aaron Pfaff followed with the game’s first extra base hit, a ringing double to the right-center gap.
Sobieski fans could hardly hold their breath, as suddenly New Ulm’s Garret Fischer came to the plate with the tying run, the speedy Pfaff, at second base. But then Jendro, rubber arm and all, kept his composure and was able to get Fischer to swing underneath a ball. Seemingly frozen in time, the ball finally found a home in rightfielder Aaron Hennes’ glove and the game was over.
“It’s just an unbelievable feeling,” said manager Czech, describing the moment. “You see that pop fly in the air to the right fielder and everybody steps to the top step of the dugout and [Hennes] squeezes it for the final out and I don’t think I remember what happened [after that].”
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| SP Tyler Jendro |
The Sobieski lifer was delirious, he could not have been happier.
Five years of coaching, following 15 years playing for the Skis, it was obvious the 36-year-old schoolteacher Czech was proud of his pupils; in particular, Jendro, who was phenomenal all weekend – earning four wins in three days.
“Tyler works so hard,” Czech said of his ace pitcher, who earned the win in all six games Sobieski played in the tournament. “After starts, between starts. He does his lifting, his running, his icing … I’ve never seen someone work as hard as he does. He deserves every bit of credit that he gets.”
On Saturday, Jendro tossed a no-hitter against New Market. He followed that up yesterday, finishing a 4-1, 11-inning win over Fergus Falls with three innings in relief. This morning he capped off a rain-delayed semifinals game against Faribault with two and two-thirds scoreless innings … and finally, his championship gem.
“Everything’s been electric,” Skis centerfielder Beau Hanowski said of Jendro - who was named tournament MVP following the game. “The velocity, the movement; [opponents] have been off-balance and behind him all tournament.”
If you’re keeping score, all-tournament includes this past weekend (described above) plus another 18 innings from complete-game efforts the previous two weekends.
Jendro had a lot of tremendous performances, but none more special than today's title game - being the state championship and climatic end to his weekend.
Jendro labored today. He labored and escaped trouble time and time again, keeping New Ulm scoreless on seven hits. And he never had much padding to work with either – as Skis bats managed just six base hits for the game, all singles.
Through the first four innings, the stadium atmosphere was tense. With an announced crowd of 562, avid spectators on both sides were often caught silent – sitting and staring with eyes agape in hope of some offense.
In the fourth inning, Sobieski broke through with the game’s first run, a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Andrew Gurbada. The Skis then followed it up with a run in the fifth on an RBI single by Joey Hanowski.
That would be it, however, as the rest of Sobieski’s hopes were piled onto Jenro’s shoulders.
At times, it seemed Czech might take his tired ace out – times like the seventh inning, when a wild pitch allowed New Ulm’s Matt Suess to reach second with one out. But Jendro fought and persevered throughout any pain his overused right arm held.
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| Skis and Brewers shake hands |
Mentally and physically exhausted, the final out was the toughest of all. One batter after allowing the game’s hardest hit ball – the two-out double in the ninth by Pfaff – Jendro recorded the final out and passed his last test.
“I just told [manager Czech] that I’ll go as many innings as you need me to,” Jendro said, regarding his extensive effort today and throughout his all-time tournament record 41.2 innings pitched. “I’ll ice [my arm] I’ll stretch it as much as possible to get it ready, and in any situation I’m going in [thinking] 'let’s go' for each and every win we have a chance at.”
Players from both sides exchanged hands following the game. The all-tournament team was announced and awards were issued. The Skis then took its victory walk, toward the scoreboard in right with several Skis fans and family members in its wake.
It was quite a day for Sobieski, quite a tournament played in Jordan and Belle Plaine. And at day's end, for the small town’s population of 200, for its fans and for its players, the 130-mile trek from home was certainly worth their while.
