JANESVILLE — Falling behind early against a pitcher who previously tossed a no-hitter against a team could make for an easy excuse to close up shop for the night and start thinking about the next game.
Janesville Craig resisted that temptation Wednesday night against Verona and Wildcats ace Jack DeTienne.
The Cougars ultimately lost 6-4 at Veterans Field at Riverside Park, but after trailing 5-0 through two innings, they collected nine singles off DeTienne, a Division I baseball recruit who draws scouting attention from major league clubs wherever he pitches. Those hits helped the Cougars close to within 5-4 through six.
“To all of a sudden be facing a 5-0 deficit in the second inning against that guy is tough, but these guys didn’t give up, they continued to battle, competed,” Craig coach Josh Shere said. “Our at-bats against him this time around were way better.”
The offensive approach had to be better for the Cougars if they were going to challenge DeTienne and the Wildcats because he was staked to a 4-0 lead before Craig’s first batter even stepped to the plate.