LHS pitcher no-hits Tonganoxie
Monday’s loss to Lansing definitely was a step back for the Tonganoxie High baseball team.
Not only did the defeat drop THS to 5-5 on the season, it also was a detour for a team that has made strides on its desired journey back to prominence in Class 4A baseball.
Lansing won, 7-0, as Lansing’s Matt McMillin threw a no-hitter against Tonganoxie. Jake Heskett reached base on a walk in the bottom of the seventh, Tonganoxie’s last hope at staging a comeback, but the Chieftains weren’t able to generate anything else on offense. Lansing, winners of six straight, improved to 8-5 overall and 4-2 in the Kaw Valley League.
“You see the glimpse of hope and see what we’re capable of, and then we fall back to our old ways,” a disappointed coach Phil Loomis said after the game at the Leavenworth County Fairgrounds.
Logan Forbis threw nearly four innings, giving up two runs for the Cheiftains.
Tonganoxie trailed by just two midway through the game but gave up five more runs as Chris Folsom, Kevin Gill and Erick Lowe each pitched in relief.
THS played again Tuesday at Perry in a game against Perry-Lecompton and will meet four-time defending state champion Bishop Ward at 5 p.m. Thursday in Kansas City, Kan.
Loomis knows the Chieftains have a tough task taking with the Cyclones on Thursday, but he’s less concerned about the opponent than he is his own squad.
“Right now I think the biggest key we have to do is be concerned about us,” Loomis said.
THS will play the other half of that Lansing doubleheader at 6 p.m. May 10 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City, Kan.