Gallery by Tina Laney
Even though the high school baseball season is barely a week old, it is never to soon for coaches to turn an eye to the postseason.
Monday night, sectional tournament implications were definitely floating in the air when Shady Spring hosted Nicholas County.
With both teams looking to get a leg up in the battle for home field advantage, Tiger skipper Jordan Meadows handed the ball to ace hurler Cam Manns.
Just as he has done several times before, the senior all-stater rose to the occasion.
Allowing just two hits over five innings, Manns struckout 12 Grizzlies and drove in two runs to lead Shady Spring to an 11-1 win.
“I was fired up for this game,” Manns said. “We didn’t get our first win at home Saturday (an 11-5 loss to Riverside), so I really wanted this win today against a sectional opponent. I am really happy with what was really my first real outing of the season.”
Although the score did not eventually indicate it, Meadows knew his team was in for a tough battle.
“I was nervous all day. Just look at Nicholas’ box scores. They beat (Independence) and they beat Oak Hill,” Meadows said. “This was really Cam’s first outing after pitching against Woodrow right after the state (basketball) tournament. Cam has done that since he was a sophomore. It is fun to watch and it is fun to coach. It was a big win.”
A dropped third strike and a fielding error gave the Grizzlies an early opportunity to score in the top of the second inning.
Grayson Kesterson then followed with a two-out single to load the bases, before Manns was called for a balk when he was confused by a time-out request from the batter.
Clearly fired up by the confusion, Manns went back to work recording a crucial strikeout to halt any further damage.
The good fortune for the visitors was short lived, however, and the game unraveled on the Grizzlies in the bottom half of the inning.
Manns walked to open the frame and was lifted for courtesy runner, Brody Seabolt who promptly stole second base.
Tyler Reed stepped in and evened the game with a solid double before control issues doomed Nicholas County.
Four walks and a hit batter put the merry-go-round in motion which was capped by a two-RBI double from Manns later in the frame.
When the inning finally came to an end, seven Tigers had touched home plate and Manns had all of the runs he needed.
“You can’t defend walks. They are a good team and they did a good job of taking advantage of those situations,” Nicholas County head coach D.J. Martin said. “Anytime Cam takes the mound, you know runs are going to be few and far between, so you can’t have a night like tonight.”
Meadows, on the other hand, was pleased with his team’s ability to get a pair of timely hits amongst the walks issued by the Grizzlies.
“They were a little wild early, but when we needed a hit, we got a hit and scored when we need to,” Meadows said.
Clearly not known as much for his hitting as his prowess on the hill, Manns was excited to contribute at the plate in the decisive inning.
“I will take a double all day. I am not a big hitter, so I will take a double for the team any day,” Manns said. “It makes my job a lot easier if I have six runs to give up. Props to my teammates for scoring and getting that lead.”
Shady Spring moves it record to 4-1, while the Grizzlies suffer their first loss and are also 4-1 on the season.
After a pair of big road wins at Oak Hill and Independence, Martin stated Monday’s game will be something for his young team to learn from for the future.
“It just goes back to hitting the (strike) zone. It should have been a much tighter game, but you can’t defend walks,” Martin emphasized. “We just had a bad day and we will learn from it. That is what we preach to them all the time. Whether we win or lose, take the lesson from the game and learn from it. Today’s lesson is just that, you can’t put them on base.”
Shady Spring hosts Greenbrier East Wednesday before traveling to the Chapmanville Wooden Bat Tournament this weekend..
Nicholas County hosts Greenbrier West Wednesday and Wyoming East Friday.
