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By Curtis Duncan
North Callaway ace pitcher Jake Baumgartner had the number of the Lutheran North hitters for most of the afternoon on Thursday in the Class 2A sectional playoff game between the two clubs. Baumgartner, a senior hurler whom St. Louis University and the University of Memphis are courting, held the Crusader bats in check until the seventh inning.
All of that changed for good in the top of the seventh when Aaron Mueller ripped a one-out, two-run single, pushing the Crusaders to a 5-3 sectional victory at Lutheran North.
Lutheran North moved to 16-1 with the triumph and will face Valley Park in a Class 2A quarterfinal game on Saturday. North Callaway's season ended at 14-7 overall.
Scoring came early for the Crusaders. A run in the top of the first put Lutheran North on top,
1-0. That lead was short-lived, though, as the Thunderbirds put some thunder into their offense with three runs. Baumgartner slapped a three-run triple with the bases loaded in the top of the second but was thrown out at the plate trying to stretch it into a home run. Still, the Thunderbirds were in front with a 3-1 lead.
There was little action from there, as Baumgartner and Mueller settled into a pitchers' duel over the next two innings.
North trimmed the deficit to 3-2 with a run in the top of the fifth inning.
Meanwhile, the Crusaders were having trouble breaking through at the plate on Baumgartner.
After having faced over 22 batters heading into the top of the seventh, though, Baumgartner began to wear down, and the Crusaders took advantage of the situation with a three-run rally in the frame.
Nate Rueckert led off with a base hit, and Steve Kooi followed with a single,
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