Jim Mashek

GREENWOOD’s CANON JAGGERS SHINES AT BAT, IN THE FIELD; SPARTANS LOOK TO REGROUP

They’re a resourceful bunch, usually content to scratch out some offense, rely on their pitching staff and let the chips fall where they may.

On Tuesday night, the Greenwood High School baseball team stepped into a telephone booth and emerged as the Gatornators.

OK, Reptillian Rappers …

Or, perhaps, just plain Gators. But they were savoring every minute of it.

Greenwood nailed down the No. 1 seed for the KHSAA’s 14th District Tournament by completing a two-game sweep of a talented South Warren squad, rolling to a 9-2 victory over the Spartans. Greenwood improved to 21-5 overall and 5-1 in 14th District play, while the Spartans dropped to 15-13 and 4-2, respectively.

“We’ve just got a resilient group,” Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers said.

Greenwood junior right-hander Nathan Howard went the distance on the mound, scattering five hits while remaining unbeaten in five decisions. Gators first baseman Andrew Jolly, another junior, belted a three-run home run to right field in the sixth inning, pretty much putting the issue to rest.

And Canon Jaggers, yet ANOTHER Greenwood junior and the son of the Gators coach, had a big night, driving in the game’s first two runs with a bad-hop single in the second and making a brilliant defensive play to short circuit the Spartans’ fourth-inning rally.

Canon Jaggers caught a sinking line drive off the bat of South Warren catcher Casey Green and fired a strike to Greenwood catcher Jake Russell to complete a dramatic double play. Russell applied the tag to South’s Jaxxen Decker at the plate, keeping the Gators’ 3-2 lead intact.

Greenwood manufactured a couple runs in the top of the fifth inning, keeping the Spartans at arm’s length, before Canon Jaggers’ RBI double and Andrew Jolly’s first home run of the season sent the Gators into orbit.

“The key play was probably Canon’s throw in the fourth inning,” Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers said. “We were able to springboard off that, to create something on offense. Jake (Russell) made a great tag (at the plate). These kids know what to do, they make plays, they compete, and I’m really proud of them.”

It was Jaggers’ 250th victory as the Gators’ head coach. The personable coach relates well to his players, serves as the offensive coordinator of the Greenwood football team and works as an Exceptional Ed instructor and PASS coach. Jaggers has compiled a career record of 250-178 since succeeding Chris Decker as the Gators’ coach after the 2010 season.

Greenwood chased South Warren’s starting pitcher, senior left-hander Kye Rich, with three runs in the top of the second inning. South right-hander Austin Allen kept his team in the game for three innings, but the Gators struck for five runs in the top of the sixth to win going away.

Greenwood’s Andrew Jolly was sitting on an Allen fastball when he connected on a 2-2 pitch for the three-run home run in the sixth.

“I was just seeing everything ‘deep,’ to be honest,” Jolly said. “I was looking for the fastball.”

Nathan Howard, the Gators’ junior right-hander, returned to the mound for the bottom of the seventh. He had one thing in mind:

Finish it off.

“I knew from the start, I need to go all seven (innings),” Howard said. “We tried to get a lot of swings, out of the (strike) zone. The slider was working pretty well.”

South Warren coach Chris Gage said his squad understands where it needs to improve before the Spartans square off with Bowling Green High School in the “cut-throat” 2-vs.-3 semifinal in the KHSAA 14th District Tournament. The Spartans won district and region championships last season before finishing as a KHSAA state tournament quarterfinalist.

“This game kind of shows us ‘the formula’ of how we need to play,” Gage said. “For one thing, we need to get healthier. We hit too many ‘at ’em’ balls … give them credit, they put the bat on the ball and found some holes in the defense.

“We hit some rockets, right at people.”

South Warren star Ethan Reynolds, a WKU commit, went 0-for-4 despite hitting the ball hard in every one of his at bats. The Spartans’ Ty Croghan and Kye Rich had RBI singles in the fourth, and junior shortstop Griffin Rardin had an outstanding game defensively.

“I still think South Warren is one of the 10 best teams in the state,” Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers said. “You know you’re in for a tough one.”

South Warren faces Daviess County (13-12 overall, 6-4 in the KHSAA’s 3rd Region) on Saturday afternoon at Franklin-Simpson High School, while Greenwood will play host to Owensboro Catholic (20-5, 8-3 in the 3rd Region) on Thursday evening. OCHS is led by junior catcher Brady Atwell, a WKU commit who is batting .377 with 16 extra-base hits and a team-high 25 RBI.