BY STEVE KRAH
skrah@etruth.com
ELKHART -- Power hitting and gutsy starting pitching were the mark of Saturday's semifinal baseball games at the Class 4A Elkhart Sectional.
On a day when there were four home runs, two triples and nine doubles, Northridge beat Memorial 8-4 and Concord topped Goshen 9-1 to set up a championship-game meeting between the Raiders (19-8) and Minutemen (17-10) at 7 p.m. Monday at Memorial.
Northridge will be seeking the sixth sectional title in program history, the first in 4A. Concord will be after its third sectional crown, including its first since 1995.
Northridge winning pitcher Landon Miller (4-2) took the game two outs into the seventh inning before Gatlin Rassi came on to close out the victory against Memorial (16-14).
Concord winning pitcher Kyle Konarski (8-3) went to distance in tossing a three-hitter against Goshen (13-16).
NORTHRIDGE 8, MEMORIAL 4
The Raiders scored in five of seven frames against the Crimson Chargers in the rubber match of 2009. The home team won in two regular-season meetings between the Northern Lakes Conference opponents.
Daimon Buck drove in three runs for Northridge with a first-inning double, third-inning sacrifice fly and fourth-inning single in the sectional victory.
The Raider third also featured a run-scoring triple from Cody Troyer and RBI double from Gatlin Rassi.
Garrett Yoder, hitting in the No. 8 slot in the Northridge batting order, smacked a two-run homer off reliever Adam Williams in the fifth inning.
"We hit the ball pretty well," said Raiders coach Andrew Brabender. "We executed pretty well."
Zack Corpe, Memorial's left-handed slugger, belted his seventh home run -- a two-run shot -- in the first inning then was issued an intentional walk in his final three at-bats.
"I'm not going to let that kid beat me," said Brabender of his decision to by-pass Corpe. "He's an awful good hitter. It's all about winning ball games."
After the Memorial first inning, right-hander Miller allowed just one Charger runner to get to third base until the seventh inning.
"We didn't have that aggressiveness at the plate we've had the last few weeks," said Rost. "But I'm so proud of how we battled to the end."
CONCORD 9, GOSHEN 1
Sophomore Logan Draus, the Minutemen's No. 3 hitter, cracked a pair of home runs -- a solo blast in the first inning and a two-run clout in the fourth -- and also walked twice and scored four runs as Concord won in another showdown between NLC teams.
"(Draus) has had a good season, but he was in a little bit of a slump coming in," said Minutemen coach Mike Jackowiak. "He has a great work ethic. He works as hard as anyone and it paid off."
Draus also made a spectacular play at shortstop in the sixth inning to retire pinch-hitter Drew Doss. Draus went into the hole and made a leaping throw to first baseman Kyle Gavin who applied the tag as Doss approached him.
Konarski and Doug Acker singled home runs for Concord in the third inning. Acker's RBI triple off reliever Spencer Oversen came right after Draus' second homer.
A three-run sixth by the Minutemen was highlighted by a two-run double by Konarski and run-scoring single by Gavin.
Right-hander Konarski fanned nine Redskins and limited them to one infield hit after a Carl Kay infield hit and Brock Bender double produced the game's first run in the top of the first inning.
"We had Konarski in trouble early," said Goshen coach Hal Farmwald. "But when he had to make pitches, he made pitches and got people out."
Redskins starter Brandon Farver (1-2) was making his fifth mound appearance of 2009. Two weeks before the start of the season, he broke his ankle and had a plate and two screws put in it.
"(Farver) worked his rear end off to come back and play," said Farmwald.
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UMMARIES
CLASS 4A ELKHART SECTIONAL
(At Memorial)
Semifinals
NORTHRIDGE 8, MEMORIAL 4
Northridge 103 120 1 -- 8 9 1
Memorial 200 000 2 -- 4 8 2
Landon Miller (W, 4-2; 8 hits, 6 strikeouts, 6 walks, 2 earned runs), Gatlin Rassi (7; 1 strikeout, 0 walks, 0 hits) and Luke Hofsommer; Wade Williams (L, 5-6; 4 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk, 1 hit batsman, 4 runs, 2 earned), Adam Williams 4; 5 hits, 3 strikeouts, 4 walks, 1 hit batsman, 3 wild pitches, 4 earned runs) and Adam Hibshman.
Northridge: Hits -- Alex Summy 2, Daimon Buck 2, Cody Troyer 2, Rassi, Garrett Yoder, Cameron Nord. HR -- Yoder. 3B -- C. Troyer. 2B -- Summy, Buck, Rassi, Nord. RBI -- Buck 3, Yoder 2, Summy, Rassi, C. Troyer. Runs -- Summy 2, Hofsommer, Rassi, C. Troyer, Yoder, Nord, Scot Troyer. Sac -- Summy, Hofsommer, S. Troyer. SF -- Buck. DP -- 1. LOB -- 10.
Memorial: Hits -- Ben Brewers 2, Hibshman, Robert FitzSimmons, Zack Corpe, Tyler Keck, Jordan Hinton, Pat Kirk. HR -- Corpe. 2B -- B. Brewers. RBI -- Corpe 2. Runs -- B. Brewers 2, Corpe 2. LOB -- 9.
Umpires: Robert Bjorkland, plate; Fred Scheub, first base; Jeff Hull, third base. T -- 2:01.
Records: Northridge 19-8, Memorial 16-14.
CONCORD 9, GOSHEN 1
Concord 102 303 0 -- 9 13 4
Goshen 100 000 0 -- 1 3 0
Kyle Konarski (W, 8-3; 9 strikeouts, 4 walks, 4 hit batsmen, 0 earned runs) and Nick Cocanower; Brandon Farver (L, 1-2; 8 hits, 2 strikeouts, 2 walks, 6 earned runs), Spencer Oversen (4; 4 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk, 3 earned runs), Ethan Hussey (6; 1 hit, 0 strikeouts, 0 walks, 0 runs) and Brett Hunter.
Concord: Hits -- Konarski 2, David Yoder 2, Logan Draus 2, Kyle Gavin 2, Doug Acker, Joe Adams, Garett Frey. HR -- Draus 2. 3B -- Acker. 2B -- Yoder, Gavin, Konarski. RBI -- Draus 3, Konarski 3, Acker 2, Gavin. Runs -- Draus 4, Yoder 2, Gavin 2, Frey. LOB -- 8.
Goshen: Hits -- Hunter, Carl Kay, Brock Bender. 2B -- Bender. RBI -- Bender. Runs -- C. Kay. DP -- 2. LOB -- 13.
Umpires: Jeff Hull, plate; Robert Bjorkland, first base; Fred Scheub, third base. T -- 2:01.
Records: Concord 17-10, Goshen 13-16.
Next: Northridge vs. Concord in Class 4A Elkhart Sectional championship at Memorial Monday, 7 p.m.