Leopold tops St. Vincent 8-6 in final home game

~ Senior Clayton Stoverink sparked the Wildcats with his first home run of the season.

LEOPOLD -- Senior Clayton Stoverink got the chance to bat after a St. Vincent error prolonged the first inning.

Stoverink smashed a fastball over the fence in left field for his first home run this season and in his final home game of his high school career.

"I really didn't hit it that hard," Stoverink said. "It's just the fact that I got it right down the plate. It was just how I like it."

Stoverink's two-run blast was the start of a two-out rally for the Wildcats. The next five hitters reached base as Leopold scored six times in the first inning and went on to post an 8-6 victory against St. Vincent on Thursday.

Leopold second baseman Carson Gemeinhardt looks to complete a double play after forcing out St. Vincent's Justin L'Hote during the first inning Thursday at Leopold. The batter was safe at first. (Elizabeth Dodd)

"He's been talking about hitting a home run all year," Leopold's Darren VanGennip said. "He finally hit one."

Leopold improved to 6-8, while St. Vincent dropped to 9-7.

Stoverink, a first baseman, said he felt he needed to have a strong day swinging the bat after he made a fielding miscue in the top of the first inning that allowed St. Vincent to take a 2-0. The miscue happened with two outs and runners at first and second. When St. Vincent's Adam Buchheit grounded to second, Stoverink ranged too far to his right and was unable to get back to cover first base in time after second baseman Carson Gemeinhardt took charge of the grounder.

Leopold starting pitcher Ryan Davis also failed to cover the bag, loading the bases and setting the stage for the next hitter to stroke a two-run single.

"I felt like it was my fault, too, because I went after that ball that was hit to me and second base," Stoverink said. "We both went there. I totally forgot about first base. ... I probably should have stayed. After that, I felt like I kind of needed to do something to help them out, and I kind of did. It was sweet."

St. Vincent's Cory Sauer warms up after replacing Brock French in the second inning against Leopold Thursday at Leopold. (Elizabeth Dodd)

After Leopold scored six runs in the first inning, it tagged on another two runs in the second inning to increase its lead to 8-2.

St. Vincent's Darin Yamnitz smashed a home run over the fence in left field in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 8-4.

Davis was relieved by VanGennip later in the fourth. And from there, the game became a pitchers' duel between VanGennip and St. Vincent reliever Cory Sauer, who took over for starter Brock French during the first inning. Sauer got stronger as the game progressed and shut down Leopold for the final four innings.

"Cory Sauer, he's been doing a great job for us," St. Vincent coach Jose Robles said. "He came out there and threw strikes. We had a rough start with Brock French. As a pitcher, you're going to have one of those days. So I came back with a reliever, and he threw a heck of a game. ... Their pitcher [VanGennip] also did a pretty good job. He went out there just like Cory. He threw strikes and made things happen. He was working ahead of the batters and that's exactly what Cory did, too."

VanGennip's only rough inning was the fifth, when he surrendered two runs on three hits. He did a nice job escaping a seventh inning jam after two batters reached base with just one out and the Indians' hottest hitter, Yamnitz, at the plate. Yamnitz already had three hits and five RBIs.

Leopold's Clayton Stoverink avoids an inside pitch during the second inning.

"I was a little nervous," VanGennip said. "I've played against [Yamnitz] for four years before, and I could remember that he was a pretty decent hitter."

VanGennip challenged Yamnitz and struck him out. He then got Derek Triller to pop out to end the game.

"When I let those two guys on, I thought I wasn't going to be able to cap it off, but luckily I came out strong and finished it," VanGennip said. "It feels pretty good. It's always good to close out your last home game with a 'W.'"

St. Vincent 200 220 0 -- 6 10 1

Leopold 620 000 X -- 8 10 0

WP -- Darren VanGennip. LP -- Brock French. HR -- Clayton Stoverink (L), Darin Yamnitz (ST. V). 2B -- Derek Triller (ST. V). Multiple hits -- Leopold: John Bohnsack 3-4, Robert Brown 2-3. St. Vincent -- Adam Buchheit 2-3. Yamnitz 3-4. Triller 2-4. Records -- St. Vincent -- 9-7, Leopold 6-8.