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Keep It Moving: Hackenberg strikes out nine, Miller advances to state semis

Photo by Kristi Ellis

Drue Hackenberg says he did not feel at his best during his start against Collegiate in the state quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon.

 

“I felt a little rough going into it – my body wasn’t there,” said Hackenberg. 

 

It didn’t show.

 

Even without his best stuff, Hackenberg was dominant. The senior pitcher gave up just two hits and one walk in six scoreless innings as Miller defeated Collegiate 7-0 in the VISAA D1 state quarterfinals to advance to the state final four. 

 

The Mavericks did a solid job of providing run support for Hackenberg early on, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Landon Abrahamson drew a walk and then stole second base. A single by Henry Cooke moved him to third, and then Chaz Henry got him home on another single. Laken Tignor then doubled to bring in Harvey to make it 2-0. 

 

“I thought they played well, I thought they played as a team,” said Miller head coach Billy Wagner. “They did some little things that needed to be done — laying bunts down, moving runners over, doing the little things.” 

 

After Hackenberg struck out two more batters in the top of the second to easily retire the Collegiate side, Miller scored three more runs in the bottom of the second. Lucas Adam reached first on a bunt, stole second, and then scored on a Nicholas Yowell single to make it 3-0. Then, Landon Abrahamson decided he had seen enough small ball, as the junior crushed a ball deep over the left field fence for a two-run home run. 

 

“There were some big hits there from Abrahamson and Tignor,” Wagner said. “Big hit by Harvey right out of the gate there. Those are things that you’ve got to have.” 

 

With a comfortable lead, Hackenberg settled in on the mound, allowing just two base runners from the second inning through the fifth inning. 

 

“I liked that he was ahead in the count a lot,” Wagner said of Hackenberg’s pitching performance. “His tempo was good. We kind of expect that. This is what he came to Miller to do: to pitch in these big games.”

 

Miller scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Laken Tignor sent a ball to the warning track, where Collegiate left fielder John Ballowe got a glove on it but could not make the catch up against the wall. Tignor turned the play into a triple and scored Abrahamson from second base. Then, Noah Murray singled to score Tignor to make it 7-0. 

Hackenberg gave up an infield single in the top of the sixth inning, but struck out two more Collegiate batters to punctuate his strong performance with nine strikeouts and zero earned runs. 

 

“I eventually found the groove and started digging in harder,” said Hackenberg. 

 

Jacob Exum replaced Hackenberg in the bottom of the seventh. Exum gave up a single but otherwise easily retired the side to close out the game for Miller. 

 

With the win, Miller advances to the semifinals of the state tournament. 

 

“It’s gonna be exciting and I feel like we have a really good chance at this,” Hackenberg added after the victory. 

 

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