Tuesday night at the State Little League 8-10 All-Star Tournament at Sophia Little League Affinity Park, it was not do-or-die for Shady Spring and Jefferson, but there was plenty on the line.
The winner of the contest would be the champion of the Mountaineer Division and advance to the championship round Thursday night.
The losing team would stay alive in the double elimination format, but still needed a win Wednesday night to move into the championship series.
With the game boiling down to defense, Jefferson made the plays, while Shady Spring suffered through some uncharacteristic miscues.
When the final out was recorded, the visitors from Shenandoah Junction advanced with an 8-3 win.
“I think errors were the key. We made five errors and I think they made only two,” Shady Spring head coach John Winkler said. “I thought we hit the ball hard, but we hit it right at them. That was the difference.”
Shady Spring took command early scoring three runs in the top of the first aided by RBI-singles from Liam Waddell and Levi Pack.
Before Jefferson could take a swing, however, the clouds opened creating a significant rain delay.
Following the break, it was all Jefferson the rest of the way.
“I don’t think the rain had much to do with anything. If anything, our boys seemed more excited to play after the rain,” Winkler said. “We had a little dance off (during the rain delay). If anything I looked over and (Jefferson) seemed flat and our kids seemed excited. I thought we were ready to go and were relaxed.”
When play resumed, Jefferson scored once in the bottom of the first, but missed on good scoring chances over innings one and two.
Even though the offense wasn’t cashing in just yet, the Jefferson defense was on point the final five innings.
The first big defensive play for Jefferson came in the third inning when Shady Spring had the sacks juiced with the red-hot hitting Jude Bailey stepping to the plate.
Bailey’s smash was snagged by first baseman Beckett Mason for the third out and both coaches agreed it was a key play in the contest.
“Jude Bailey has more RBI’s than anybody on the team. He steps up and smashes one down the right field line and the first baseman jumps up and makes a snow cone snag to end the inning,” Winkler said. “He may get a (inside) the park home run there and possibly four runs.”
Instead of a possible 7-1 advantage, Jefferson held the game in check until its offense responded in the bottom of the frame.
“Beckett Mason is a solid player. Anytime it is crunch time, I trust him and he steps up and makes plays,” Jefferson head coach Anthony Thomas said.
Following a walk to open the bottom the third, Jaxon Busch striped one inside the first base bag for a run scoring triple. Busch then scored on a safety squeeze by Henry Solich to tie the game bat 3-3.
“We threw the ball around a little bit and got outside of ourselves right before the rain broke,” Thomas explained. “The kids settled down and was more selective at the plate. We made sure we were looking at good pitches and hitting good pitches trying to get on base.”
Plate discipline was the key to the decisive fifth inning for Jefferson who scored five runs to break the game open.
Three hit batsman, two walks, a Shady Spring error and singles from Blake Price and Myles Mumaw accounted for the damage.
Jefferson sandwiched two more key defensive plays in between the offensive outburst to keep Shady Spring at bay.
Shady placed runners at first and second with one out in the fourth, only to see Jefferson erase the threat with an inning ending double play.
The Raleigh County boys also had a glimmer of hope in the sixth inning with back-to-back walks before the second double play of the game stopped the momentum in its tracks.
“The kids have great awareness. We were in the right place at the right time. The two double plays were huge,” Thomas said. “We had one the last game as well. Defense has definitely been keeping us within striking distance.”
Winkler talked about the keys for his team Wednesday in what is now a win-or-go-home game.
“We just have to get back to what we have been doing all year,” Winkler said. “Get back to hitting the ball in the gaps. We are still good on pitching because we are so deep.”
Game time Wednesday for Shady will be 8 p.m. against St. Albans.
