Meulemans leads Kimberly to 5-0 win over Appleton North

KIMBERLY - Kimberly and Appleton North met Friday in an early-season Fox Valley Association baseball showdown and Papermakers hurler Matt Meulemans was ready for what the Lightning had to offer.

The junior pitcher tossed a gem, scattering four hits, striking out six and walking none as Kimberly blanked the Lightning, 5-0, in a sectional final rematch from last season at Sunset Park.

“He just did great,” Kimberly coach Ryan McGinnis said. “Multiple pitches over on both sides of the plate and he’s a competitor. That’s a good-hitting team, so he did a real good job.”

Meulemans didn’t overpower North as much as he frustrated it. Three of his six strikeouts were recorded in the final two innings and before then he didn’t allow North much to look at, as the Lightning had only two runners reach second base.

“I was locating my fastball real well, curveball late in the count,” Meulemans said. “I was keeping it down and people were swinging through it.”

Kimberly’s offense works Yost
Meanwhile, North pitcher Grant Yost lasted just 3 2/3 innings as Papermakers hitters made him work. On several occasions, Kimberly batters kept fouling back pitches, making Yost throw more than he wanted to.

Kimberly, however, didn’t always make Yost pay.

“In the third, that hurt,” McGinnis said. “Bases loaded and nobody out and we only got one. It wasn’t because we didn’t hit the ball hard. We grounded into a hard double play and that happens. I loved our approach at the plate. There were several eight- or nine-pitch at-bats.”

Eventually it paid off with a three-run fourth inning that made a 2-0 lead a 5-0 lead that chased Yost. Ben Diedrick had a two-run single and Scott Schreiber had a sacrifice fly. For good measure, Meulemans added a double.

“We had a lot of good at-bats,” said Meulemans, who bats fourth. “I think getting the pitcher high in the pitch count allowed us to get more hits.”

Two of Kimberly’s best hitters were its top two hitters in the lineup - Colin Englebert and Diedrick, who reached base seven times in eight plate appearances. McGinnis liked what he got from them.

“That’s very big,” McGinnis said. “Any time you get that lead-off guy on you have some options, so that’s nice.”

Meulemans settles in
After Kimberly took a 5-0 lead, Meulemans said he settled down.

“I was worried the whole game until we put up three in the fourth,” Meulemans said. “It was a lot more relieving.”

And while Meulemans made the North hitters unsuccessful at the plate, he realized it wasn’t all him. In the last three innings, when Meulemans said he settled down, he allowed one hit, a bunt.

“I’m exceptionally proud, especially with my defense, knocking the ball down, getting guys out,” Meulemans said. “It definitely wasn’t just me out there.”

A return to state for Kimberly?
Last season, when North eliminated Kimberly in the postseason, it ended a four-year run for Kimberly making it to the state tournament. The expectations are always there for this program, but how does the team feel?

“We definitely want to get in the state tournament,” Meulemans said. “We just look at every game and want to be perfect in everything we do.”

McGinnis knows what’s expected, but isn’t consumed at all with it.

“I think that’s the expectation from the outside,” McGinnis said. “As long as we don’t let that creep in what we do day-to-day, then you play on your heels. The guys achieved as much as they could achieve and then we got to that game and if they look at that as a failure, so be it. If we look at it as a failure, we’re doing a disservice to our guys.”

• Notes: Englebert was 1-for-1 with three walks and three runs, while Diedrick was 1-for-2 with a walk, hit by pitch and a single. Meulemans was 2-for-3 with an RBI. … Kimberly left 12 runners on base. … Kimberly had eight players reach base via walk or hit by pitch. … North was without its best hitter, Clark Eagan, who’s recovering from a torn labrum he suffered during football season. … Freshman Alex Henwood was 2-for-3 for North.
• Game ball: Meulemans, who was tough on the mound and solid with the bat, recording two hits.
• Numbers game: 0 Runners North had reach third base.

WP - Matt Meulemans (7 IP, 6 K).
LP - Grant Yost (3 2/3 IP, 5 R, 5 H, 3 K, 6 BB, 1 HBP).
Records: Appleton North 2-2, 0-2. Kimberly 4-0, 2-0.

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

doug.ritchay@wluk.com