Freshman pitcher keeps grip in soggy conditions, keys victory over Deer Lakes

By: Chris Harlan
Tuesday, April 15, 2025 | 9:49 PM

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Gray clouds filled the sky, temperatures slid into the 40s and rain was falling sideways.

Yet somehow Freeport’s Owen Westendorf made Tuesday look like a beautiful day for baseball. Unfazed by the nasty weather, the freshman right-hander stayed on the mound for six solid innings, a gritty effort that led Freeport to a 14-3 victory over host Deer Lakes.

The Section 3-3A game sent everyone home soggy.

The wet weather caused big trouble for Deer Lakes’ pitchers, who combined for 14 walks, two hit batters and five wild pitches. Lancers starter Nolan Danka was replaced after four outs, and four relievers combined to pitch the final 5²⁄₃ innings.

Their struggles to get a grip on the ball made Westendorf’s steadiness more remarkable. He allowed four hits and three walks while striking out four in a 93-pitch outing.

“He’s one of the calmest pitchers I’ve ever had,” Freeport coach Ed Carr said. “That’s kind of why I leaned on him today. I knew the weather would be iffy. I didn’t know he was going to go that long, but I was incredibly impressed by his performance.”

Westendorf gave up a pair of home runs in the third inning but otherwise shut out Deer Lakes. Luke Logsdon pitched a scoreless seventh inning in relief.

“I just came out and tried to throw strikes and not worry too much about the weather,” Westendorf said. “The balls were very slippery. I threw a few straight into the backstop. But you’ve got to try as best you can.”

Freeport’s win split the two-game series and tightened the standings in a section where every team now has at least two losses. Deer Lakes won 12-7 on Monday.

This time, Freeport (5-5, 3-3) scored two runs in the first inning and four in the second to lead 6-0. Deer Lakes (5-4, 5-2) couldn’t escape that early hole despite homers by Ben Shurina and Eli Misera.

“(The rain) affected us and got us in a bad headspace,” Deer Lakes coach Chris Snyder said. “But there’s no excuse. The other team plays with the same ball and the same conditions. We didn’t play our brand of baseball today. You saw it on the scoreboard.”

Freeport had 10 hits, with two apiece by Gage Blystone, Michael Hanz and Dustin Kohan. Blystone went 2 for 3 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBIs. Hanz scored three times and Kohan twice.

The Yellowjackets extended their lead with two runs each in the third and fourth innings, one run in the sixth and three in the seventh.

“I thought we were very patient today, which was big,” Carr said. “We didn’t try to force the issue.”

That patience at the plate helped Freeport chase Danka, who faced only 11 batters as Deer Lakes’ starter. The sophomore allowed just one hit but walked six, allowed six runs and threw two costly wild pitches in the first inning.

Freeport scored its first two runs on wild pitches, miscues obviously impacted by the weather.

“I think it had a profound effect on our starting pitcher,” Snyder said. “He couldn’t grip the ball. That’s not a kid who throws four in a row off the backstop.”

Wild pitches thrown by relievers in the fourth and sixth innings also led to Freeport runs. But Snyder said the weather can’t be blamed entirely, since Westendorf was pitching well in the same cold rain.

“I told that to my team,” Snyder said. “He was throwing the same ball we were throwing. He didn’t put the guys on base that we did, and he found a way to get it done.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Freeport