Stellar defense and timely hits helped Scott County win their annual rivalry match with Great Crossing on Tuesday.
The Cardinals turned three double plays to help Tyler Wands pitch seven innings, allowing just two runs.
Two runs in the first saw the Cardinals take the lead against Warhawks ace Nate Adkins, and they held on for a 4-2 win.
“I was feeling confident, I trusted the guys behind me,” Wands said. “We had a lead the whole game, it gave me comfort on the mound.”
Sebastian Arden led off the first with a single, and Will Rose reached on a fielders choice as GC shortstop Brenton Alcorn got the lead runner. Duncan Stevens followed up with a single to move Rose to third. Parker Dotson got an RBI on a fielder choice to drive Rose in and break the ice.
A passed ball allowed both runners to advance, and Colt Fields (running for Stevens) scored on a hit by Keagan Hurt.
Wands started the first with a strikeout, but Alcorn immediately worked a walk.
Nate Adkins hit a sinking liner to center, but Justin Stevenson charged and made a excellent diving grab, popped up, and made a perfect throw to first to double up Alcorn and end the inning.
“I kinda read it weird, I read it on the ground, but I thought I could get to it, and once I saw him on second, I knew I had the arm to get him,” Stevenson said.
Adkins settled down in the second, getting two swinging strikeouts and a groundout for a clean inning.
Dustin Hoffman wore Wands’ first pitch to get an early base runner in the second, and Nathan Snawder walked after a flyout to put two runners on with one out.
A grounder to Arden at shortstop allowed him to turn two for the second inning-ending double play in a row for the Cards.
Both pitchers seemed to have settled down in the third, with neither allowing a base runner.
Parker Dotson led off the fourth with a line-drive single to right, before just beating the throw from Hoffman on a double from Hurt to put the Cards up 3-0. Dotson’s score would prove to be the difference in the game.
Adkins hit Stevenson to put two on with no outs, but got three strikeouts in a row to limit the damage.
Multiple bunt attempts by the Cardinals didn’t get down correctly. Cardinals Coach Scott Willard said bunt practice will change.
“I blame myself,” he said. “We’ve got a pitching machine we bunt off of, and I set fastballs right down the middle. We are going to start bunting curveballs and pitches in different locations.”
Alcorn drew another walk to lead off the fourth for the Warhawks, and Adkins dropped a sacrifice bunt to advance him to second. Alcorn stole third and got the Warhawks on the board after an error by the Cardinals. A lineout to Stevenson ended the inning with GC trailing 3-1.
After the Cards went down in order again in the fifth, the Warhawks presented their biggest threat of the evening.
Snawder led off with a single to right, and Landen Walters reached on a hard-hit grounder to third base. Eli Adkins dropped a bunt for an infield single to load the bases with no one out.
Wands wasn’t rattled, perfectly fielding a comebacker to get the force out at home and the baserunner at first for the Cards’ third double play of the evening.
A lineout to center completed Wands’ Houdini act.
Three more strikeouts from Nate Adkins kept the Hawks within striking range in the sixth.
Alcorn continued his solid night at the plate with a double to center and scored two groundouts later. Wands’ second and final strikeout of the game ended the inning.
Looking for some insurance, Garrett Sparks led off the seventh with a single, followed by a perfect bunt single from Seth Jean.
Nate Adkins got a strikeout and a flyout, before Will Rose walked to load the bases. Sparks scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-2 before Adkins got his 12th strikeout of the game to end the inning.
Two flyouts and a pop out saw the Hawks go down quickly to give the Cardinals their fourth win in six games in the young rivalry.