Gallery by Tina Laney
The previous two sectional wins this week between Shady Spring and Nicholas County only needed four runs to secure a victory.
Saturday in the decisive third Class AA Region 3, Section 2 matchup between the schools, the Tigers added one more run just to be safe.
Anchored by incredibly efficient pitching for the second night in a row, Shady Spring played solid defense and used timely hitting for a 5-2 win.
The Tigers move on the Region 3 championship where it will play PikeView in a best-of-three series.
“What a baseball game. No mistakes by either team, outside of that one hiccup we had early,” Shady Spring head coach Jordan Meadows said. “We hit the baseball and we executed when we needed to and that was big today. We are excited, but the job is not done yet.”
The visitors drew first blood and grabbed the early momentum with a pair of runs in their first trip to the plate.
A bunt single from Caleb Burns and a slow rolling infield single from Alex Pritt put runners at first and second with one out.
The Tigers nearly escaped the damage when a liner to third was snagged for the second out of the inning. However, when the throw to first went wide in a double play attempt, both runners moved into scoring position.
A two-out single from Ira Mylott scored both runners for a 2-0 lead before Shady had swung a bat.
Nicholas County also appeared on its way to a quick first inning thanks to two solid defensive. That all changed when a walk was issued to Cam Manns followed by a balk call, moving him to second.
With a runner now 180 feet away from the plate, Adam Richmond ripped a double to score Manns and cut the deficit in half.
Over the next six innings, Shady Spring starting pitcher Jacob Meadows put on a clinic in regards to efficient pitching.
After needing 17 pitches to get out of the first frame, Meadows needed only 50 pitches over the final six innings. During that six-inning masterpiece, Meadows issued no walks and surrendered only two hits. Neither runner advanced past first base.
Of the total 67 pitches the junior standout threw, only 12 were called for a ball.
“I came in locked in and I knew I was going to throw strikes. I knew my defense was behind me,” Jacob Meadows said. “I am pretty sure I only had one strikeout, but my defense backed me up so good. My fellow outfielders, I love them. They played a heck of a game and I could not have asked for more.”
Meadows not only frustrated Nicholas County on the hill, he was also a big factor in his team taking the lead in the third inning.
A lead-off single from Meadows and a walk to Colten Tate became a problem for the visitors when a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position.
Manns then drilled a single to left field scoring two runs for all of the help that Meadows needed to secure the sectional title.
“We started scoring and it really helped me. I got on base and that helped too,” Jacob Meadows said. “I felt the momentum was with me the whole game, even after those two runs. I was focused at the plate and I knew I had to produce today, but we played great as a team.”
The speedy lead-off hitter did all of the work for a run in the bottom of the fifth.
Down no balls and two strikes in the count, the left-handed hitting Meadows ripped a liner down the left field line for a double. Moving up on a ground ball out, he then raced home on a wild pitch for a 4-2 lead.
“Jake started off the (third) inning with a hit and Tate walked. We got them over and Cam hit a shot. Adam hit a shot in the first inning with a guy on second base,” Jordan Meadows said. “Today was timely executed hitting and way better than Wednesday and Thursday. We are coming along. We still need more hits, but a win is win. I love it and we are moving on to regionals.”
Contact was not the issue for Nicholas County. Finding somewhere for the ball to fall was another story.
“We shelled it today and it found a glove all night,” Nicholas County head coach D.J. Martin said. “When you have two good teams playing each other, sometimes it goes that way. That was the difference in the game.”
Any ball hit out of the infield near Aiden Calvert (left), Jadon Bailey (center) and Parker Brown (right) were gobbled up and often in spectacular fashion.
Among the many loud roars from the home crowd for the outfielders was an explosion for Brown who made a diving catch near the foul line in the sixth inning.
The final run for Shady came in the bottom of the sixth. Cash McCall doubled home Richmond who had walked to open the at-bat and took second on a sacrifice bunt from Reed.
Mylott led off the final inning with a single before a fly ball to Bailey put Shady two outs away from the championship.
A liner from Braden Brown appeared to be going for a single before Manns channeled his inner Dikembe Mutombo by going full extension to snag the rocket, nearly doubling off the runner at first in the process.
A fly ball on the infield was gathered in by Manns who secured the win with a shout of approval.
“The outfield had no mistakes tonight. Parker Brown diving full layout was a hell of a catch in right,” Jordan Meadows said. “Cam in the last inning goes full extension for a great catch. That catch was incredible.”
Coming off a strong outing for Tate in a win over Independence Wednesday, along with a 77-pitch gem from senior Tyler Reed to keep the season alive Thursday against the Grizzlies, coach Meadows was hoping his younger brother would also have a strong outing Saturday.
“After losing on Wednesday, I think the kids were hungry and a little upset,” Jordan Meadows said. “Cam threw a gem, but we just had two bonehead mistakes that led to them getting runs. The momentum was on their side. Tate stepped up Thursday and said I am not losing this game, so we put him out there instead of Jake. I wanted to go with Jake, but we went with Tate.”
“Thursday, senior leader Reed said he wanted the ball because he had a tough outing the night before. Reed throws 77 pitches in a complete game. I told Jake today that he was the last we guy we had. After that it would be a pitcher’s duel and we will see what we have.”
The Shady Spring coach really had no idea what he was about to witness.
“Jake never really pitched before spring break this year. What does he do? He throws 67 pitches, allows two hits today and scored some runs,” Jordan Meadows said. “We battled. This team knew they could not lose in sectionals. We said all along our goal was Charleston. Now we have PikeView in front of us.”
After watching his team suffer through two lopsided losses in the regular season to Shady, Martin was impressed by the progress his team made over the season.
“From where we started to where we finished with as young as we are, it was a great season. We had huge improvements and guys learned to play in situations like this,” Martin said. “To take a team like Shady to the bring was huge. There is nothing to hang our heads about. They are already talking about getting back after it and getting to work in the off-season and try to win this thing next year.”