Athlete of the Week: Lincoln Christian’s Caleb DeWitt

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Lincoln Christian secured its first ever district title on Friday behind a strong performance on the mound from junior pitcher Caleb DeWitt.

DeWitt threw seven innings of scoreless baseball while striking out nine batters and only allowing one hit in the win.

The Crusaders faced off with the Auburn Bulldogs in the C-2 district final, looking to secure a spot in the state tournament.

Lincoln Christian struck first in the bottom of the third inning after a fairly quiet start to the game.

With a 1-0 advantage, DeWitt kept the Bulldogs off the board. He said pitch selection kept things quiet.

“Ball all over the zone, they were swinging and then the curveball and change-up slowed them down,” he said.

The score would remain 1-0 thanks to some solid pitching from both DeWitt and Bulldogs starter Travon Shaw.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, DeWitt got the Crusader offense going with a 1-out single up the middle.

Once the inning ended, the Crusaders were up 5-0 heading into the top of the 7th inning.

DeWitt said those insurance runs from his teammates were huge.

“Honestly five runs, four of those in the last inning.” said DeWitt. “We couldn’t get anything in the air, so we played small ball and got the ball on the ground.”

DeWitt struck out the final batter completing the shutout and securing the programs first district title.

“It’s huge for our school, it’s the first time,” explained DeWitt. “These seniors were here when it started, so its huge for them.”

No. 3 Lincoln Christian will face off with No. 6 Mount Michael on Saturday in the first round of the state title at Frerichs Field in Elkhorn.