BLACKSVILLE – When it comes to high school baseball, cleanliness is next to, winningness?
Before the Clay-Battelle baseball season even started, head coach Johnny Coombs knew that his team needed to play smart, mentally sharp ball to be successful. And after a rough start, the Cee-Bees have begun to find their stride, winning two straight, including a 3-2 home win against Magnolia Tuesday.
In perfect weather, C-B starter Matthew Gadd and his defensive teammates were perfect for the first 4 1/3 innings, and they held a 1-0 lead heading into the fifth after Austyn Foley’s fourth-inning double was followed up by an RBI single from Kooper Statler.
However, Gadd suddenly fell out of rhythm, hitting a batter and walking another, then balking both runners into scoring position. An infield grounder plated a run, and then an errant pick-off attempt from catcher Foley allowed another run to score to give the Blue Eagles the 2-1 lead.
A second hit batsman prompted Coombs to turn to the freshman Statler and the big right-hander coolly squelched the Magnolia (2-6) rally with a punchout and groundout.
“We’re starting to get it,” Coombs grinned. “I liked the way we stayed up and supported each other today, and except for that one half inning, I thought we played a pretty clean game. We’re still young, and we’re still learning some base running basics and a more complete approach at the plate, but I’m proud of how we played as a team tonight. If we do that every time out, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win a lot of games.”
Clay-Battelle (2-6) responded immediately in the bottom of the fifth with Drew Mercer’s leadoff double, a well-executed sac bunt from JC Spears, and Kohlton St. Clair’s sac fly that knotted the score at 2-2. Then, with two outs in the sixth, a patient pinch-hit walk by Tucker Summers, a wild pitch, and a clutch RBI single from Austin Turner drove in the go-ahead run.
In the seventh, Statler surrendered a lead-off walk and an opposite-field single, but a laser throw from right fielder Gadd cut down the crucial lead runner at third. After another infield ground out, Statler walked another to put the tying run in scoring position. But once again, the freshman calmly coaxed a routine grounder to second for his first varsity victory.
“I wasn’t really nervous,” Statler smiled after the game. “I knew my teammates were there for me, and besides, it’s just a game. I tried to throw as many strikes as I could and find my rhythm. It was a good win for us, for sure.”
The Cee-Bees travel to Toronto, Ohio today, then play a doubleheader at Oak Glen on Saturday.
BY MARK SCHRAF
Magnolia 000 020 0 – 2
Clay-Battelle 000 111 X – 3
MAGNOLIA (2-6): Finn Loy ss 4 0 0 0 Hayden Pyles p 3 0 0 0 Braden Kocher 1b 3 0 0 0 Landon Streets cf 3 0 0 0 Brayden Vargo 2b 2 1 0 0 Jordan Thomas 3b 1 1 0 0 Zackery Loy c 3 0 2 1 Brayden Byers lf 2 0 0 1 Kukus LeMasters rf 1 0 0 0 Conner Carpenter ph 1 0 0 0 Aiden Fluharty ph 0 0 0 0 Totals 23 2 2 1.
CLAY-BATTELLE (2-6): Drew Mercer 2b-1b 4 1 2 0 JC Spears ss 2 0 0 0 Kholton St. Clair cf 2 0 0 1 Austyn Foley c 3 1 2 0 Kooper Statler 1b-p 3 0 1 1 Matt Gadd p-rf 3 0 2 0 Cayden Strosnider rf-2b 2 0 0 0 Cameron Mercer 3b 2 0 0 0 Tucker Summers ph 0 1 0 0 Austin Turner lf 2 0 1 1 Totals 23 3 8 3.
E – CB 2. LOB – MHS 5, CB 7. 2B – CB 5 (D. Mercer 2, Foley 2, Gadd). SH – CB 1 (Spears). SF – CB 1 (St. Clair). HBP – Magnolia 2 (Vargo, Byers by Gadd). Balk – CB 1 (Gadd).
Magnolia – Pyles (L) 6 ip 3 r 3 er 8 h 3 bb 8 so.
Clay-Battelle – Gadd 4.1 ip 2 r 1 er 1 h 1 bb 4 so, Statler (W) 2.2 ip 0 r 0 er 1 h 2 bb 1 so.
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