NORMAL — Newark coach Josh Cooper knew that he had exhausted most of his pitching options just to get to Thursday’s Class 1A third-place game.
With that in mind, Cooper decided to go with right-hander Jared Slivka.
“I’m going to let our senior ride,” Cooper said.
Cooper made the right call.
Despite working only 13 ? innings all season, Slivka pitched a complete game to lead the Norsemen to a 6-2 win over Mount Pulaski at Illinois State University’s Duffy Bass Field.
Slivka (3-0) struck out three and allowed only two runs on six hits and a walk for Newark (27-2), which lost 5-1 earlier in the day to Father McGivney in the semifinals.
“I believe in him,” Slivka said of Cooper. “Whatever he thinks, I go for it. We didn’t have a lot of pitching, but I was confident, though. I was confident in my team, the defense, our hitters. Just pitch strikes. That’s all I have to do.”
He got help in both departments early.
The Norsemen took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Tegan Kruser led off with a single and Lucas Pasakarnis reached on fielder’s choice with one out.
Dalton Reibel delivered a bloop single and Joe Martin managed a sacrifice fly, respectively, to bring home the base runners.
“I was way more confident in myself with the lead,” Slivka said. “Just let them hit the ball basically. That was my goal.”
He also received a boost defensively in facing the minimum number of batters through three innings.
Newark caught Mount Pulaski (21-3) trying to steal and also nailed a runner at third base trying to stretch a double.
“The kid is a gamer,” Cooper said of Slivka. “We told him to throw his fastball and his slower fastball to keep them off-balance. He just goes out there, throws strikes, and doesn’t back down from anybody.
“What a memory for him. I couldn’t be happier for him. I hope he’s living it up right now.”
Slivka ran into some trouble in the fourth inning, giving up two runs. He already had a five-run cushion by then, however, thanks to a three-run third.
Mitchell Kruger had the big hit with a two-run triple. And then fittingly, Pasakarnis drove in Slivka with the game’s final run in the sixth.
After Reibel pitched Newark to state and Martin handled the semifinal, Cooper understood he would need to piece together the pitching for the Norsemen’s final game of the season.
Turns out, he only needed Slivka.
“I told Jared, ‘Be ready to pitch in a state championship game,'” Cooper said. “You can’t prepare to do it if you don’t make it there. I can’t be more proud of these guys.”
Holding the state third-place trophy, Slivka was taking pictures with a thick chain-link necklace he said he’s worn after every victory.
Since he’s not playing in college, it’s a memory he’ll keep forever.
“We’re making history,” Slivka said. “We’ve been saying that. I’m glad for our town. I’m glad for Cooper, first year as head coach. I’m glad for the players, our last year as seniors. You don’t expect this.”
Reibel, Slivka, Ethan Jeffers and Logan Benesh are the only seniors graduating from the team.
“Let’s do this thing again,” Cooper said. “Why not?
“This is great for our school. First time being down here for baseball. First time winning a sectional and a supersectional. These kids have to be dang proud of themselves.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.