Travelers in title hunt in Springfield

Dominique Smith and Ivan Pyszka combined to toss a two-hitter, the offense tallied eight hits and Johnny Eierman belted a two-run homer as the Post 642 Travelers kicked off the Springfield Wood Bat Tournament with a 10-0 win Wednesday over the Post 189 Bulldogs of Lee’s Summit.

Despite the rarity of the Travelers’ potent offense not reaching double-digit hits, the lineup’s patience at the plate shined and filled in the void.

The Travelers (32-4) worked deep into the counts in the afternoon contest, garnering five walks and reaching base three times on a hit by pitch.

The run support provided the stage for a dominant outing from starting pitcher Pyszka, but an injury to his right arm ending his day early. After striking out three and allowing a hit and two walks in two scoreless frames, Pyszka departed with a 2-0 lead and Dominique Smith didn’t skip a beat in relief.

The right-handed hurler (7-1) struck out four and faced the minimum in four scoreless innings to earn the win.

The offense, staked to a 2-0 lead from Eierman’s two-run blast in the first, provided plenty of insurance with their No. 2 starter on the mound.

The Travelers scored three runs in the third, one in the fifth and capped off the contest with four in the sixth.

Already armed with the patience at the plate and timely hitting, the defense  preserved the shutout with with an impressive display in the field.

Facing the only threat of the afternoon in the third, the Travelers threw a runner out at home and followed up by inducing a 6-4-3 double play to set the tone for an error-free day.

The hit parade included many offensive standouts, highlighted by a 3-for-3 performance from Eierman. The Warsaw student-athlete drove in three runs, crossed the plate three times and reached safely in all four at bats.

Drew Hutinger pitched in with a two singles and three runs scored, Jared Hagedorn added a hit and three RBIs and Jordan Dey provided an RBI double.

Post 642’s 8 a.m. second-round pool-play contest has been forfeited by Olathe South, and the Travelers will next play against the Lincoln, Neb. Amigos at 1 p.m. today.