There are no givens in the postseason.
Shady Spring proved that again to be true when it knocked off top-ranked Independence for the Class AA Region 3, Section 2 title just over a week ago.
Now the question becomes, can the Tigers play with that same vigor in the regional best-of-3 championship series against Bluefield?
Shady Spring head coach Jordan Meadows feels confident his team has put the sectional win behind them and will be focused and ready in game one Monday at Bowen Field.
“We had practice all week and played Greenbrier East last week. We had a (batting practice) session yesterday out in the heat and talked to them,” Meadows said. “We got a good session in and (pitcher) Cam (Manns) said he was good to go. I told them to come ready to play and in our group session today we were sending stuff back and forth getting fired up and ready to play.”
The formula for postseason success has never changed over the years. Good pitching, solid defense and timely hitting have been the keys and Shady has followed that playbook to perfection so far.
The Tigers have 10 hitters batting .333 or better.
Josh Lovell leads the potent Shady Spring attack hitting .475. Lovell has 13 doubles, five home runs, including a pair of grand slams, and has knocked in 43 runs.
Fellow senior Alex Johnston hits .400 with 12 doubles and 31 RBI, while seniors Aden Seabolt and Evan Belcher have 34 RBI each.
As potent as the Shady Spring line-up has been, a slight adjustment towards the end of the season has made the Tigers even more deadly.
“I mixed it up a little bit right before the tournament by putting (Tyler) Mackey in the two-hole and taking some pressure off Alex by putting him in the four. Then the bottom of our lineup with (Colten) Tate getting some big hits and Adam (Richmond) down in the six-hole,” Meadows said. “We are small-balling when we need to and when the big hit needs to be done, somehow somebody figures it out. It has been great for us so far.”
Mackey leads the team with 41 runs scored. The junior spark-plug has three home runs and has knocked in 30 runs.
Richmond and Tate had key home runs in the sectional wins over Independence.
Bluefield (19-6) has quietly gone about its business this year and will also have some lethal bats at its disposal.
The record does not include a win or loss over Shady Spring because the two teams did not play this year in the regular season.
“The first game got snowed out and the second game got rained out,” Meadows said. “We know they have two good arms in Ryker (Brown) and Kerry (Collins). I assume we will see Kerry tomorrow, but we are preparing for both of them.”
Five Beavers are hitting .389 or better with three hitting over .500.
Hunter Harmon leads the attack hitting .566 with 19 extra base bits and 49 RBI. Brown is hitting .507, while Collins hits .506 with 40 RBI.
Catcher Bryson Redmond is hitting .481 with seven triples and Caleb Fuller provides another strong bat hitting .389.
“Their 1-5 are tough and just about as tough as you get,” Meadows said. “They make routine plays and put pressure on teams. They have a great record because they have good pitching and they back it up with their hitting.”
Game two will be played at Shady Spring, while game three, if needed, will be back in Bluefield.
“We just need to make the right plays and play error-free baseball. That is what you saw against Independence,” Meadows said. “I tell the guys it is one out at a time. We have Cam and Alex, and I am biased, but that is about as good as it gets around here. We just have to help them out by backing them up and hit when we need to. We need to put pressure on them to make some mistakes and get a lead early.”
All games are set for a 6 p.m. start.
