Islanders shock No. 1 Junior Jays

Rain led to only one of eight scheduled games being completed on the opening day of the state baseball tournament on Saturday.

Grand Island made that one game a newsworthy one.

The Islanders took advantage of an uncharacteristically rattled Omaha Creighton Prep to stun the top-seeded Junior Jays 8-2 on a soaked Sherman Field to open Class A play.

Omaha Creighton Prep -- ranked 18th in the country by USA Today -- committed seven errors, had five wild pitches and one passed ball. Ace Joe Holtmeyer hadn't allowed an earned run in 30 innings this season, but after a dominating start, he gave up six runs (two earned) to the Islanders before being chased in the sixth inning.

"So many times we've been down here (at state) and made a mistake to open up an inning," G.I. coach Rick Kissack said. "Everybody tried to stay in control. But you can't expect (Creighton Prep's) mistakes."

The first four innings went as many expected with the Junior Jays (26-3) taking a 2-0 lead in a pitchers' duel. Holtmeyer struck out the first nine batters he faced, and the first 13 Islander outs were the result of strikeouts.

"It started out with Creighton Prep just dominating with pitching," said winning pitcher Kash Kalkowski, who went 1-for-4 at the plate. "We went with our two-strike approach right away (in at-bats). We chipped away and competed the entire time."

Kissack said Holtmeyer deserved credit for sitting down Islander after Islander.

"The first (13) outs were strikeouts," he said. "He was overpowering. He threw his fastball by us and threw a dominating slider.

"I tried to get (the players) to relax and realize it's a long game."

Things turned around in the fifth. Grand Island (17-13) became the team with the better at-bats. Creighton Prep became a team struggling to make routine plays.

After getting out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the fourth, Holtmeyer gave up his first hit -- a single to Slade Bolles with two outs in the fifth. Kirby Wells, who had walked, moved to third when Bolles' hit scooted past center fielder Ryan Briggs.

Wells scored on a wild pitch, and another wild pitch allowed Bolles to cross the plate and tie the game at 2. One run was earned, the first in 35 innings for Holtmeyer.

Kalkowski said tying the game was a huge momentum changer for Grand Island.

"Mentally, it boosted us 100 percent," he said. "We want to compete with the best, and we did."

Kalkowski's own strong performance was overshadowed by Holtmeyer early on, but he rose to an even higher level after the Islanders tied it up.

After giving up a two-out, two-run single to Shawn McKenna in the first, he didn't allow another hit until Derek Nelson's single with two outs in the sixth.

He struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth and had seven of his 10 strikeouts over the final three innings.

"That's how it usually works out," Kalkowski said. "I start a little sloppy in the first and then increase my velocity and control (later in the game)."

Creighton Prep coach Pat Mooney felt Kalkowski was a difference-maker in the game.

"He pitched the way I expected," he said. "He threw pitches for strikes. He's a battler as well. It was a tough match-up for us. I didn't want to face him."

Grand Island took the lead for good by scoring four runs in the sixth. Creighton Prep had three errors, two wild pitches and a passed ball in the inning.

Dalton Ryba led off with a single, then Holtmeyer's error on Nathan Zook's bunt led to both runners being safe. Casey Griffin bunted both runners over -- something uncommon for the Islanders under the small-ball disliking Kissack.

Pinch runner Adam Brown scored on a passed ball and Zook came home on a wild pitch to make it 4-2.

An error on a foul ball near third base kept Brandon Tjaden's at-bat alive, and he took advantage with a double. Wells followed with a single, and Holtmeyer's day was done.

"The key, if I had to pick one besides Kash's pitching, was three big hits," Kissack said. "Slade has a hard single (in the fifth), Wells singled and Tjaden doubled (in the sixth). Those (hits) showed that we were locked in."

No. 9 hitter Pete Kropp added a sacrifice fly, and pinch runner Aaron Scarborough pushed the lead to 6-2 when he scored on an error on Bolles' second single of the game.

The Islanders tacked on two more in the seventh, as the rain which started in the fourth inning led to pools of standing water near each base.

Griffin was hit by a pitch and Tjaden singled. Both scored when the Junior Jays committed two more errors on Wells' pop up that fell between the first baseman, second baseman and right fielder.

After walking Jeff McNichols to lead off the bottom of the seventh, Kalkowski retired the next three batters, the final two on strikeouts, to complete his two-hitter and seal the Islanders' second win at the state tournament in the program's six years.

"(Kalkowski) has been the face of our program for four years," Kissack said. "There's still some things left to accomplish. He's done a great job along with Slade, Eric (Schwieger), Kirby, Casey and all our seniors this year."

Creighton Prep's two runs matched a season low. The Junior Jays have scored 10 or more runs in 14 games.

Grand Island's eight runs tied for the second-most given up by Creighton Prep this year. The most were also by the Islanders in a 25-11 loss to the Junior Jays.

Both teams now get an extra day of rest with the other three first-round games rescheduled for Monday.

Grand Island faces the Papillion-LaVista South vs. Omaha Westside winner at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Haymarket Park.



Grand Island (17-13)    000    024    2--8    7    1

Creighton Prep (26-3)    200    000    0--2    2    7

WP--Kalkowski (5-2). LP--Holtmeyer (6-1). 2B--GI, Tjaden.