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But the senior right-hander’s effort wasn’t enough.
Rogers was held to one hit by ace Robert Spitzenberger and an error with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning let Lexington score a run for a 2-1 win on Thursday night at Nelson Field in Game 1 of a Class 2A Region IV quarterfinal baseball playoff series.
The loss spoiled arguably Kuehn’s best postseason outing. Kuehn (6-4) allowed four hits, struck out eight batters and walked four.
Rogers (26-9), the defending 2A state champion and winner of its last 10 playoff series, faces elimination against Lexington (26-4-1) at 7 p.m. today at Nelson. If Rogers wins, Game 3 will be played at 3 p.m. Saturday.
In a 1-1 game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Rogers had a chance to send the game to extra innings.
After walking B.J. Brister, Kuehn made a throw to first base to hold Brister. But the throw to Cameron Doskocil was low and Brister moved to third after the ball rolled to the fence.
Rogers appeared to have escaped without any damage when Kuehn got Brian Tiemann to hit a high popup above second base. Shortstop Gregory Mendoza called off second baseman Ryan Fares and seemed to make the catch, but the ball popped out of his glove, allowing Brister to score the game’s winning run.
“That was a tough play - that’s a high, high ball,” Rogers coach Craig Coheley said. “It just popped out of his glove. That didn’t lose the game for us. Our lack of production at the plate was the difference in the game.”
Rogers, which came in averaging more than seven runs per game in the playoffs, had a difficult time getting runners on base against Spitzenberger, let alone scoring.
Along with allowing only one hit, Lexington’s senior left-hander struck out eight and walked four.
But Rogers cost itself its best chance of the game in the first inning, leaving the bases loaded.
Jerry Dillard led off with a single to left field, then Mendoza and Doskocil walked. But Spitzenberger (9-0) struck out the side to escape any damage.
“That was a significant turning point in the game,” Coheley said. “We had (Spitzenberger) possibly on the ropes early and we didn’t do anything with it.”
Spitzenberger rebounded well, retiring 21 of the next 23 batters.
Coheley wanted to be aggressive on the bases, knowing he might need every run his team could put together against a Lexington team that’s hit nearly 50 home runs. But that was tough when Rogers had only five base runners - just two after the first inning.
Rogers’ lone run came in the fifth when No. 9 hitter Jordan Sebek, the team’s last base runner, drew a one-out walk. He advanced to second on a groundout by Dillard and moved to third on a wild pitch. Spitzenberger’s 2-2 offering to Mendoza went to the backstop, allowing Sebek to give Rogers a 1-0 lead.
Lexington answered in the bottom of the inning after Kuehn allowed a double, walked a batter and hit one to load the bases. Michael Kieffer’s one-out fielder’s choice scored Julian Bexley, who hit the leadoff double, to tie the game at 1.
That was the lone earned run allowed by Kuehn, who entered having pitched back-to-back playoff shutouts against New Waverly and Hallettsville.
“Kuehn pitched a great game,” Cohleley said. “Lexington’s got a great hitting team. He held them at bay for most of the game.”
Needing two wins to extend their season, the defending 2A champs have been in this situation before. Rogers dropped Game 1 in its bi-district series against New Waverly before taking the next two to advance to the area round.
But if Rogers is to keep its state title defense alive, Coheley knows his team will have to make it happen at the plate.
“We’ve got to rebound, show what we’re made out of (today),” he said. “We’ve got our backs against the wall. We’ve got to show the self-discipline (today) to come back and get a victory and push this to a third game."
rschneider@temple-telegram.com