Gallery by Tina Laney
Runs were at a premium Monday when county rivals Shady Spring and Beckley met at Linda K. Epling Stadium.
On a cold, blustery night, the Flying Eagles found a way to get the job done.
Riding a stellar pitching performance from Maddex Sims and some timely hitting along the way, Beckley turned back the Tigers 5-2.
Before maxing his pitch count, Sims went 6 1/3 innings allowing just one run and three hits. The junior hurler fanned nine Tigers and walked only two.
“The curve ball was working really well. It helped me out a lot,” Sims said. “I grew up playing with these kids (from Shady), so I knew their struggles and their advantages. That helped out a lot. I feel like when I play people I know that I play better.”
Beckley head coach Michael McKinney stated that it was Sims’ turn in the rotation, but also said he wanted the ball against Shady.
“Maddex is a gamer. He told me he definitely wanted this game and it fell on his rotation,” McKinney said. “So, he got (the ball). His arm strength was there and his velocity got a little higher as the game went on.
The two teams traded runs in the first inning.
Jake Meadows led off with a triple for the Tigers and scored on a ground ball from Aiden Calvert.
With runners at second and third in the bottom of the frame, Sims evened the game with a ground out to third.
The Flying Eagles then moved in front for good in the second inning when Andrew Gallaher doubled to open the frame and later scored on a double steal.
Gallaher stung the visitors again in the bottom of the fourth inning with two outs when he turned on a fastball, driving it to the leftfield fence just inside the foul pole.
“We have had some fortunate games this season with the ball bouncing our way,” McKinney said. “Maddex has been big for us all season. Drew is a freshman. He has pitched solid for us and has barreled the ball up all year.”
With the game still very much in doubt, the youth of the Tigers showed at a critical time in the contest.
With a chance to get out of the inning unscathed, Shady Spring failed to make a play on a ground ball in the infield, allowing Gallaher to score.
The Flying Eagles made the error hurt double when Jackson Gambrell followed with an RBI-single for a 4-1 lead.
“We are young. It is March, it’s freezing and I am wearing a jacket. These guys are growing each day. I saw some good things out of some young guys and some bad things,” Shady Spring head coach Jordan Meadows said. “All in all we gave up two earned runs and they beat us 5-2. We clean up the stuff it is a 2-2 ball game and you never know what can happen.”
The Tigers mounted a threat in the top of the 5th-inning, but Sims was up to the challenge.
A hard liner to third with one out by Meadows could not be handled, allowing him to reach.
Calvert followed with a bleeder over the first baseman moving Meadows to third. Calvert then moved to second uncontested giving the Tigers runners at second and third with just one out.
Sims escaped any damage with a strike out and a ground ball back to the mound for the third out.
“The thing with Maddex is keeping his confidence up. When you play a good hitting team like Shady, you have to keep them off balance,” McKinney said. “You have to have confidence in your breaking ball. He started to get it more and more throughout the game.”
Beckley added to the lead in the bottom of the inning when Sims ripped a one-out triple to the left-center gap and scored on a single from Blake Nixon.
After Sims was lifted from the game, Shady loaded the bases and scored one run, but could get no closer on the night.
“Maddex pitched a great game and did it well enough to win obviously,” Meadows said. “I am biased, but I thought Jake and Cal (Culicerto) pitched well enough to win. They put it in play, we made errors and they win the game. Maddex was very competitive tonight and he threw a gem.”
