MALCOLM – In a low-scoring ballgame, every pitch matters.

Micah Cattau showed everyone in Malcolm why.

The incoming Cedar Catholic sophomore was brilliant on the mound, striking out 13 batters in a complete game, 102-pitch effort as Hartington defeated Tecumseh 1-0 to open the Class C State Tournament.

“I’m thankful that I was able to go out there and throw strikes, but our defense played a big part in allowing me to do what I did,” Cattau said. “Every time they hit the ball, we made a play. Our bats weren’t there today, but defense travels.”

The defense really showed out in, especially in the bottom of the fifth.

With Hartington holding on to a 1-0 lead, Tecumseh would produce their biggest threat in the game with runners on first and second with two outs. A pickoff attempt just missed getting Hartington out of the jam, but Cattau and first baseman Easton Hochstein weren’t through just yet.

Right after the first pickoff attempt, Cattau went to Hoctsein again, this time catching the Tecumseh runner off guard as Hochstein applied the tag, getting Hartington out of the inning.

“Easton saw the runner was lacking and not paying attention, so he made the call on that play and I give him big props for that,” Cattau said. “That play also gave us a lot of momentum throughout the rest of the game, as an out like that to end an inning can go a long way.”

Cattau going the distance also went a long way for their bullpen, as it allowed coach Don Whitmire to rest his remaining arms as Hartington looks to made it back to the state title game like last year.

“Micah was a stud on the mound, and while I’d ideally like to have kept him at 80 (pitches) you can’t take a chance at pulling him in a one-run ballgame the way he was throwing,” Whitmire said. “His perfmance saved our arms, and we have a lot of those left as well.”

As for the run, that came in the third inning when a speedy Drey Puppe was able to slide into home on a wild pitch, just beating the tag gor the game’s lone score.

“I told the team earlier this year that we lost by one run at state last year,” Whitmire said.  “This year we win by one run; we found a way to get the W.”

With the win, Hartington moves on to the winner’s bracket of the Class C State Tournament and will face Lommis today at 4 p.m.