“Honestly I don’t even think about it,” Koger said. “I go and I just throw and I trust the guys behind me. “For me it’s just I have to treat it the exact same. No game is too big or too small, it’s just a step towards where we want to go.”
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Caleb Koger has taken well to the No. 1 pitching role for Katy.
The senior had been a mainstay in the Tigers starting rotation all year, but when playoff time started, Koger was given the game one role. He hasn’t looked back since.
In his four playoff starts, Koger has only given up two runs over 19.2 innings, good for a .73 earned run average this playoffs.
Koger’s dominance continued on Wednesday, as he threw 5.1 innings of shutout ball in Katy’s 4-0 win over Clear Springs, as the Tigers took an important game in the regional semifinals.
“Honestly I don’t even think about it,” Koger said. “I go and I just throw and I trust the guys behind me. “For me it’s just I have to treat it the exact same. No game is too big or too small, it’s just a step towards where we want to go.”
It was a pitchers battle for five innings in the game, but that was also because of some mistakes Katy made at the plate.
The Tigers got runners on second and third in the first inning but weren’t able to get anything across, and the same things happened in the second inning when Katy loaded the bases but stranded all three after an inning ending pickoff.
“Our offensive approach wasn’t very good tonight,” said Katy head coach Wes Hearne. “We were chasing balls in the dirt, we were going after pitches that we usually are patient on and it was a struggle. It was a messy win, but at this point in the playoffs you take them any way you can get them.”
From there the pitching settled down until the sixth inning, when Katy finally broke through.
The Tigers got a double and an error to a runner in scoring position and then got their first run of the game off another error by the Clear Springs first baseman. Reese Ruderman then doubled the Katy lead by driving in a run on a single.
Cade Nelson came on in relief of Koger in the sixth inning with an out and men on first and second, he calmly retired the side with a pop out and line out to bring things to the seventh. Sutton Hull then made it a three run game on a sacrifice fly before Cole Kaase singled to bring things to 4-0. Nelson then shut things down in the seventh to end it.
Koger finished having given up three hits and three walks while striking out five. Nelson came on and didn’t allow a hit, striking out two while walking one to close the game.
“Cade has been phenomenal for us,” Koger said. “He’s disgusting, and he throws some hard heat. He’s a very different pitcher than I am and I think that helps us as well because there’s no time to adjust.”
With the win, Katy still is undefeated in the playoffs, they’ll look to continue that on Thursday, when they play Clear Springs in game two of their matchup 6 p.m. at Langham Creek. The Tigers will go for the sweep and look to advance to their first regional final since 2006 and only the third regional final in school history.
“We’ll have to be better tomorrow,” Hearne said. “Be disciplined at the plate, play well offensively and keep trusting our pitching and defense. We like playing at Langham though, we’re comfortable there having played a couple times. Hopefully we’ll see the ball well and be able to score some runs tomorrow.”