Armed for Battle

Leps Had a Pitching Performance for the Ages in Their Opening Baseball Playoff Series

It was, quite simply, the most dominant stretch of postseason pitching La Grange has had since their state title season nine years ago.

With their season on the line and their backs against the wall, the Leps got 15 innings of two-hit, shutout baseball against Burnet Friday and Saturday to win their bidistrict playoff series.

After losing the series opener 8-0, the Leps bounced back to win the next two games 3-0 and 1-0.

“We had heard Burnet swung the bats well, and then after the barrage they showed in Game 1, to shut down that offense over those final two games was special,” said La Grange head coach Robert Barber.

And those wins vault the Leps into a second round playoff rematch with Rusk (15-12), the team that knocked La Grange out of the postseason last year.

Rusk was the 4A state runner-up last year, and has two standout pitchers of their own in JD Thompson (a Vanderbilt signee) and Mason Cirkel (who threw a no-hitter against Waco La Vega last week).

But with the way the Leps are pitching, there are no Rusk batters who will feel comfortable at the plate, either.

In Game 2 of the bidistrict series it was La Grange junior Trenton Barnes, who pitched six no-hit innings. But he’s just bouncing back from arm issues, so he’s on a limited workload.

“After the sixth inning everyone wanted him to go back out there, but he was spent,” Barber said.

With the no-hitter still intact Barnes had one message for Cameron Kruse before he went out to the mound to relieve him.

“I told him don’t blow this,” Barnes said.

“I just laughed, but I was nervous,” Kruse said.

It didn’t show. Kruse retired Burnet in order, the no-hitter was secured and suddenly the series was tied.

“The moment wasn’t too big for him. He threw strikes and kept the ball down,” Barber said.

That Game 2 win set the stage for a nailbiter of a Game 3 – and to the mound the Leps sent senior Chase Krnavek, who had not pitched much this season because of his own injury battles.

“It was my knee at first (from football) and then I messed up my elbow (early in the baseball season), but I’m back now and ready to go,” Krnavek said.

For seven innings Krnavek kept Burnet off the scoreboard.

“What he did for us was not a shock to us, it might be a shock to some, but it was not a shock to us, me and coach Schmidt and this team because we knew exactly what he was capable of,” Barber said. “He competed his butt off and matched their guy inning for inning.”

Krnavek allowed one legitimate hit, and one infield single.

Burnet wasn’t scoring, but neither was La Grange.

Finally the Leps scratched out a run when Kadyn Hall drove in Brendan Maddox.

But the Leps had to get through the bottom of the eighth inning.

Kruse came back to the mound.

“He did the same thing in Game 3 he had done in Game 2, but this time there was no margin for error,” Barber said. “He showed the type of competitor and kid he is.”

It was a two-game stretch of pitching dominance that even decades-long La Grange assistant Wayne Schmidt was impressed with.

“I’m really proud of those guys,” Schmidt said.

Now Rusk looms. That best of three series will be at Cy Falls High School. Game 1 is Friday at 5 p.m. with Game 2 to follow that night. If necessary Game 3 would be Saturday at 5 p.m. back at Cy Falls.

“It’s going to be fun,” Barnes said. “They are a different team than they were last year and so are we.”