Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2B
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2018
Baseball
WBHS continued from IB
batsman and the single by Williams
to end it.
“All year, it’s been win or learn for
us,” Smith said. “(The series) was
something that will hopefully help
us develop and figure out the little
things we need to do to be ready to
beat that type of team next year.”
Smith has good reason to be opti
mistic about 2019. The Bulldoggs
are slated to return all but one regu
lar from the everyday batting order
— senior catcher Melton along with
senior Trace Wells, who started a
large chunk of games in center field
while being hit for in the lineup by
designated hitter Sam Darling.
The Bulldoggs’ youth this year
— there were four sophomores and
a freshman in the lineup Thursday
— didn’t stop them from winning a
second straight region title.
“I’m very happy about the way
these guys bought in to what we
try to do,” Smith said. “They’re
no doubt young and scrappy. Even
through this whole doubleheader
when they were down, they contin
ued to grind.
“I feel like we’ve got good players
coming back. We’ll get better than
we were this year hopefully and
it should be a fun year again next
year.”
Smith expressed gratitude for the
four seniors who finished the year
with the team — Melton and Wells
along with backup catcher Michael
Plack and reserve outfielder Ayanni
Vasquez.
“Melton busted his butt every day
for us behind the plate. Wells is
always ready to dive and lay out for
a ball,” Smith said. “Then you take
a guy like Michael Plack, for exam
ple, who stays on top of the game
and keeps the pitching charts. He’s
an assistant coach for us in a way.
“These guys sold out for us in
every possible way and tried to
make the guys around them better
every day.”
STAYING ALERT
Winder-Barrow shortstop Brady House looks back toward first to check
on a runner after tagging out a River Ridge runner between second and
third base during game two of Thursday’s doubleheader.
Photos by Scott Thompson
APPLYING THE TAG
Winder-Barrow first baseman Hunter Marsh saves a wide throw and
tags out River Ridge’s Colin Grant on a ground ball during game one of
Thursday’s doubleheader. River Ridge won the game 13-0 in six innings.
NICE GOING
Winder-Barrow catcher Jackson Melton, center, is welcomed to the
dugout by teammates after leading off the top of the second inning of
game two of Thursday’s doubleheader with a double. Trace Wells, who
courtesy ran for Melton, would come around to score on an RBI double
by Lance Sikes which gave the Bulldoggs a 1-0 lead. However, Winder-
Barrow wound up losing the game 12-2 in five innings to see their sea
son come to an end.
Bethlehem Christian swept
by Westfield in first round
By Scott Thompson
Sports Editor
The Bethlehem Christian Academy
baseball team saw its season come to an
end Friday as the Knights were swept by
The Westfield School in Perry in the first
round of the GISA Class AAA playoffs,
losing 3-2 in game one and 16-4 in six
innings in game two.
Westfield (15-11), the No. 1 seed out
of Region 4, advances to the Elite Eight
and will host Trinity Christian-Dublin this
weekend. The Knights, who were the No.
4 seed out of Region 1, finished 11-13-1.
In game one Friday, BCA starting pitch
er Patrick Wallace was outdueled by Hor
nets starter Tee Adams, who allowed just
four hits and struck out eight while throw
ing a complete game. Wallace went the
distance for the Knights, allowing just two
earned runs on seven hits while fanning
seven over six innings of work.
After the Hornets grabbed a 2-0 lead
in the bottom of the second, the Knights
came back with a run in the third when
Chase Appling led off with a walk and
later scored on a fielder’s choice.
Westfield scored an unearned run of its
own in the bottom of the inning. With two
outs. Matt Muse doubled and moved to
third when Peyton Black reached on an
error. Then Muse came home when Black
took off for second on a steal and drew a
throw.
The Knights loaded the bases with no
one out in the top of the fourth on walks
by Jacob Adams and Ethan Guthas and a
single by Dylan Parker. But they could
only get one run across as the Westfield
pitcher got Appling to ground into a
double play (which plated Adams) and
struck out Brock Harris to escape further
damage.
The Knights mounted a threat in the
sixth with back-to-back two-out singles
by Guthas and Parker, but Guthas was
picked off at second by Adams to end the
inning.
The Knights managed only two hits in
the game-two loss. They fell down 4-0
early before cutting the deficit to 4-3
in the bottom of the second when Ryan
Whitlow and Russell Kiser were both
hit by pitches with the bases loaded and
Andrew Klein drew a bases-loaded walk.
The Hornets broke the game open with
six runs in the fifth and six more in the
sixth. The Knights’ only other run came in
the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly
by Appling that plated Guthas.
“They were pretty good,” BCA coach
Matt Nicks said of the Hornets. “We had
some opportunities throughout, and the
first game could have gone either way; we
just didn’t execute in the end.
“We were able to fight back early in the
second game which is what we’ve done
all year, but we just ran out of steam in the
end and their bats really woke up.”
Nicks considered the season a success
overall, given the fact the Knights had to
replace several seniors and virtually all of
their main pitchers from a year ago.
“I think we maybe exceeded expecta
tions a little bit with the inexperience,” he
said. “A lot of the new guys bought into
what we were coaching and we got to see
a lot of guys grow up and get better every
day. I’m excited to see what the future
holds. We’ll have some rising freshmen
who are going to have to step up and
replace some of the guys we’re losing
this year.”
And the pieces BCA will be losing to
graduation were critical ones this year.
Nicks mentioned Wallace, who became
the Knights’ ace on the mound and led the
team in every major offensive category
from the middle of the lineup; Whitlow,
who was second on the team in hitting
from the No. 9 spot and provided strong
defense in center; and Appling and Park
er, who put together solid seasons and
showed steady leadership at third and
behind the plate, respectively.
“We relied heavily on pretty much all of
them,” Nicks said. “They’re going to be
hard shoes to fill, but I think with the guys
coming up, we’re finally going to have
some good competition at every position
that we’ve been looking for.”
14-Month CD Special
2.12% APY
24-Month CD Special
2.38% APY
Lock In This Great
CD Rate.
Get your CD today. Stop by any
branch or call 770.967.5090
to find out more.
Bank with
Confidence.
HamiltonStateBank.com
APY means Annual Percentage Yield. The Annual Percentage Yield is effective
as of May 2,2018. Relationship Checking bonus does not apply to this offer.
A penalty may be imposed for early withdrawal. $5,000 minimum deposit required.
Offer may be withdrawn at any time.
HHAmilton
State Bank