Baseball: Andrew Gipe's gem sends Sandwich past Plano

PLANO — Despite the uncertainty that any baseball would be contested this week due to the glut of recent rains, one thing became abundantly clear when Sandwich and Plano surprisingly took to the field Wednesday afternoon on the well-drained surface of Reaper Diamond.

Sandwich senior pitcher Andrew Gipe provided no doubt he'd walk away the winning hurler after tossing a two-hit, 11-strikeout gem in leading the Indians to a 3-1 win over the Reapers.

The right-hander was masterful from the start, carrying a no-hitter into the fourth inning where Plano produced its first hit and lone scoring threat of the day. But Gipe reset himself after the Reapers loaded the bases with nobody out and escaped the jam relatively unscathed, allowing just one run.

From there, Gipe (3-3) struck out six of the last 11 batters he faced during innings five through seven, giving up just one more hit in a spectacular effort for Sandwich (7-10, 4-5 Interstate Eight).

"My curveball was really working well today, the two-seamer was tailing very hard, and all my pitches came together which gave me confidence about just going out there and throwing strikes," Gipe said. "It's always nice when we can beat Plano, and I was glad I could do my part today."

Gipe also added one of five Sandwich base hits, the other four coming off the bats of Nico Migliorini, Sean Smith, Devin Carrera and Austin Ford against Plano's tough-luck losing junior pitcher Mike Bruell, who also went the distance.

"Bruell keeps us in every single game like he did today, but give credit to Gipe, because he was very tough and we just weren't aggressive enough at the plate against him," Plano coach John Parpet said. "We were too passive and weren't looking to hit the ball early in the count, and that's what hurt us against a pitcher who really had good stuff today."

The Indians touched Bruell for a pair of runs in the second inning.

With one out, Migliorini singled to right and advanced to second on Smith's infield hit. Gipe then walked to load the bases before Carrera scored Migliorini with an RBI fielder's choice. Smith scored on the same play after a Reaper throwing error to make the score 2-0.

Plano (9-14, 2-6) had a legitimate chance to get to Gipe in the bottom of the fourth.

Mason Accidentale and Patrick Johnson led off by walking on eight consecutive Gipe balls for Gipe's two lone bases on balls. Riley Stevenson got the Reapers' first hit off Gipe, of the infield variety, to load the bases with nobody out. Dylan Jones then scored Accidentale with an RBI groundout before Gipe recorded a strikeout and an easy infield putout that saved him from the early mess almost unharmed.

"After I gave up those two walks, I knew I had to throw a strike. Once I did, I got back on track," Gipe said. "Our defense made some plays behind me, and I got out of it."

Sandwich scored its final run in the top of the fifth. Gipe reached base on an infield hit and came around to score on Jackson Murphy's RBI groundout.

All that was left was for Gipe to set down nine of the next 11 batters he faced in order to seal the deal.

"Andrew had his good stuff today and he's been very consistent his last few times out," Sandwich coach Jason Van Pelt said. "We feel like we have a great chance to beat anybody when he's on the mound and he sure showed his toughness out there with an outstanding performance."