Baseball: Herscher’s hope for title halted by Alleman

Updated: June 1, 2012 7:49PM

PEORIA — Herscher left-handed pitcher Matt Webber was dealing. Through five innings Friday, the senior had held Alleman’s high-powered offense scoreless, with only two hits, in a Class 2A sectional semifinal.

But Alleman’s offense figured out Webber long enough to push two runs across in the sixth inning, handing Herscher a 2-1 loss at O’Brien Field. Herscher will play for the third-place trophy Saturday at 3 p.m.

“That was a great high school baseball game,” Herscher coach Eric Regez said. “Matt Webber executed the game plan perfectly. He pitched a great game.”

Webber (9-3) masterfully fed Alleman a three-pitch diet, heavy on curveballs and changeups. He retired the side in order in three of the first four innings, and the only hit he issued at the time — a one-out triple by Dan Cutkomp — was quickly erased with a rare hidden-ball trick at third base.

Webber recorded five of his six strikeouts over the fourth and fifth innings. But Alleman (29-12) sprung to life in the sixth, stringing together three hits. Cody Sedlock’s run-scoring single to right field with two outs proved to be the game-winner.

“I threw backwards a lot,” said Webber, who issued no walks. “I kept them off balance all game, but they figured me out in the sixth.”

As well as Webber pitched, Alleman junior Cody Sedlock matched him pitch for pitch. The hard-throwing right-hander threw a four-hitter with six strikeouts and five walks. The only run Herscher (33-8) mustered was unearned, when Logan Orr scored on a two-out error by the shortstop.

“We didn’t have any hits with runners in scoring position,” Regez said. “Give credit to [Sedlock]. He made a lot of big pitches.”

© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.