GAVE HIS SQUAD FIVE SOLID INNINGS.
GREENWOOD PLAYS HOST TO AC-S ON THURSDAY NIGHT; SPARTANS FACE ADAIR COUNTY ON FRIDAY
Greenwood High School’s Zach Davis is a multi-purpose baseball player who has helped put the Gators on the map over the years.
Davis has signed with the University of Louisville, a tradition-rich ACC program that certainly knows the way to Omaha, Nebraska, the home of the College World Series.
He’s got some goals to pursue on Scottsville Road before shoving off for Louisville this summer.
“We have nine seniors on this team,” longtime Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers said after the Gators turned back sixth-ranked South Warren High School, 4-2, on a sun-splashed Wednesday evening at Corey Hart Ballpark. “It’s a player-led team. Zach’s one of the those guys. He’s worked really hard for this team.”
Davis is a little undersized, as a college pitching prospect, at 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds. Shortstop is his natural position, and Jaggers was thinking about turning to outfielder/pitcher Chaze Huff after the Spartans slipped past Greenwood, 2-0, on Monday night at South Warren Ballpark.
STARTING PITCHER, WILL PLAY
JUCO BASEBALL IN ALABAMA NEXT YEAR.
SCORES IN THE FIRST INNING.
AND THE GATORS WILL PLAY HOST
TO AC-S ON THURSDAY EVENING.
SOLID DEFENSE BEHIND
STARTING PITCHER ZACH DAVIS.
After Tuesday’s postponement, because of thunderstorms that fell across South Central Kentucky, Davis arrived at the park on Wednesday afternoon before learing he’d be taking the mound against South Warren in Game Two of the KHSAA 14th District series.
“Yesterday, we were all thinking about that first game,” Davis said. “Today, we came out, and everybody felt great. I was told to go down to the bullpen and warm up. That’s when I found out I was pitching.
“I’ve just got to go out and throw strikes.”
Davis scored the game’s first run, on a deft squeeze bunt off the bat of Greenwood’s Easton Talley, and worked five innings on the mound before yielding to Gators closer Jackson Lee. The Spartans rallied in the top of the seventh, against Lee, and they had the tying run in scoring position when South Warren’s Griffin Rardin stepped to the plate with two outs.
Lee and Rardin played a seventh-inning game of cat-and-mouse before Lee ended it by fanning Rardin on a 3-2 curveball. Rardin had crushed a fastball, previously, in that at bat, but it faded beyond the left-field foul line to keep the Spartans alive.
Lee then recorded the strikeout, and that was that.
Greenwood improved to 19-5 overall and 3-1 in the KHSAA’s ultracompetitive 14th District. South Warren dropped to 17-5 and 2-2, respectively.
AND THE GATORS HAVE A
RESOURCEFUL SIDE ON OFFENSE.
MAKES THE MOVE TO HIS BULLPEN IN THE FIFTH.
IS FLANKED BY GATORS TEAMMATES
ZACH DAVIS (LEFT) AND CHAZE HUFF.
AS THE GATORS’ HEAD COACH.
“Me and (South Warren coach Chris) Gage were talking about that before the game,” Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers said. “We’ve got three teams (Greenwood, South and Bowling Green High School) in all of the statewide rankings, and I don’t think any other district has more than one.
“This has to be the toughest district in the state.”
Davis remained unbeaten in five decisions, but he issued back-to-back walks to open his fifth and final inning. That prompted Jaggers to go to his bullpen, and Lee retired South’s Camden Page on a shot to the center-field fence, only to have it run down by Greenwood’s Sam Holder.
Then, South Warren’s Ty Croghan lined a pitch that the Gators turned into a 4-3 double play, Greenwood’s second twin killing of the night.
There would be more drama in the seventh and final inning.
South Warren left fielder Jaxen Decker was hit by a pitch with one out, and Lee issued back-to-back walks to bring the tying run to the plate. Lee struck out Spartans catcher Tucker Sears for the second out of the inning, but leadoff man Junior Perkins lined Lee’s first pitch into center field for a two-run single.
Suddenly, it was 4-2 and Griffin Rardin was stepping to the plate.
“We were all pretty nervous by then,” Greenwood catcher Easton Talley said. “I had to calm Jackson down. I kind of wanted to stay with the fastball (when the count went full), but (Lee) wanted to go with the curveball.”
Strike three.
Ballgame.
MAKES THE CATCH AT THE FENCE
TO RETIRE SOUTH’s WHITT GLOSSICK.
FOR A LIFT EARLY IN THE GAME …
GREENWOOD’s JACKSON LEE IN THE SEVENTH.
SOUTH’s GRIFFIN RARDIN TO END THE GAME.
“We hit a lot of ‘at ’em balls’ early in the game,” South Warren coach Chris Gage said. “They scored on that swinging bunt (from Talley) in the first, and then (Greenwood’s) Chaze Huff got that two-run double inside the foul line (in the fifth).
“Austin Allen (South’s starting pitcher) did a real good job of throwing strikes. It was a tough one, but we’ve got to come back this weekend for a couple games with Allen County (Scottsville) and Daviess County on Saturday.”
Allen certainly did everything he could to keep the Spartans within striking distance.
After the first inning, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior retired nine of the next 10 batters he faced. He issued a leadoff walk to the Gators’ Canon Jaggers in the fourth, at which point Gage moved Griffin Rardin from shortstop to pitcher.
AN INNING-ENDING DOUBLE PLAY.
IS BATTING .302 WITH
EIGHT EXTRA-BASE HITS.
TUCKER SEARS ON A DOUBLE PLAY
TO END THE FIFTH INNING.
IS PICKED OFF AT FIRST BASE
BY GATORS CATCHER EASTON TALLEY.
Allen took the loss, dropping to 3-3 on the season.
Greenwood will resume 14th District play against Bowling Green High School on Monday, with Game One set for the Purples’ Harold J. Stihl Field. Bowling Green completed a two-game sweep of winless Warren Central on Wednesday, cruising to a 16-0 victory over the Dragons. BGHS shortstop Evan Schallert and teammate Grayson Newman each had three hits in that game.
FOR THE 14th DISTRICT TOURNAMENT.
A TWO-RUN SINGLE IN THE SEVENTH.
AUSTIN ALLEN DEPARTS
IN THE FOURTH INNING.
A SPECIAL RAPPORT WITH HIS PLAYERS …
LIKE THE DOG PARK, AS FAR
AS PIPER IS CONCERNED.