As a junior last season, Oswego’s Troy Vosburgh established himself as a varsity starter.
The senior right fielder has found the going to be a little bit tougher this season, however. The upshot? He’s been finding himself batting down more in the Panthers’ order.
“I try not to focus on the results too much because baseball is a really hard sport,” Vosburgh said. “I just try to keep practicing when I’m not hitting well.
“It showed on the field (Tuesday).”
Vosburgh had his big moment to shine Tuesday, coming through with a two-out RBI double in a 4-3, eight-inning win over Yorkville that clinched the Southwest Prairie West title.
In the bottom of the eighth, Vosburgh came up big for Oswego (22-10, 11-3), scoring pinch-runner Kenny White with the winning run. Vosburgh finished with two hits.
Cade Duffin added an RBI double and scored a run for the Panthers.
Kameron Yearsley produced both on the mound and at the plate for Yorkville (14-15, 7-7). The junior left-hander threw five innings, striking out eight and allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits. He also had an RBI double in the seventh to force a 3-3 tie.
Nate Harris went 2-for-5 with an RBI for the Foxes. Kyle Munch also had two hits.
Drake Dunnett drew a two-out walk in eighth to keep the game alive for Oswego. Vosburgh came up and focused on right field, but when given an inside pitch, he jumped on it.
“I usually look for fastballs away because I hit the ball to right field better,” Vosburgh said. “He got me inside and I pulled it, and I got lucky and it got down the line.
“I usually don’t pull the ball, so I was actually surprised that I did and it wasn’t an out. That was amazing for me.”
Oswego coach Joe Giarrante started waving in White the second the ball sneaked past the bag at third base.
“I told myself, if this ball gets to the outfield in any way, shape or form and we have a chance to score, he’s going,” Giarrante said. “I want to make them make a throw. It worked out.”
The heroics from Vosburgh were amplified when added to his defensive play in the top of the eighth.
Munch had a two-out double and Harris followed with a single. Yorkville coach Tom Cerven sent Munch, but Vosburgh made a perfect throw to the plate to end the inning and preserve the tie.
“My center fielder, Luke Voelker, told me to hose him,” Vosburgh said. “I threw it as hard as I possibly could and thankfully it was right at Drake (Dunnett).
“It wasn’t over yet, but I was definitely very happy that held the run right there and we had a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the inning.”
Cerven had the same mentality as Giarrante did in the bottom of the inning.
“One of the things we look at pregame is outfield arms,” Cerven said. “Coming into it, I knew the kid had a really good arm. In that situation, being the away team, you have to take your chances.
“The kid threw a dart. That was a perfect throw from about 200 feet. If I had to do it all over, I’d do the same thing.”
Giarrante knows how hard Vosburgh works, so he was happy to see him have moments like he did Tuesday.
“He deserves it,” Giarrante said. “He’s such a coachable kid. He listens to everything we tell him. In batting practice, we worked a lot with him on his hands and his posture at the plate.
“A little bit of confidence goes a long way for him.”
The win, combined by a 6-3 loss from Oswego East, delivered the second conference title in three seasons for the Panthers.
“Our conference is very tough,” Vosburgh said. “To win it is absolutely awesome.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.