Jim Mashek

GAME TWO WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE SWAMP; PURPLES WILL TURN TO SENIOR RIGHT-HANDER LOGAN JOHNSON

After a 48-hour wait, Bowling Green High School and its crosstown rival, Greenwood High School, finally took the field with severe weather threats behind them.

“We had two extra days to get ready,” Greenwood pitcher/infielder Whitt Glosick said after the Gators struck quickly, before cruising to an impressive 10-5 victory over the eighth-ranked Purples on Wednesday night at Harold J. Stihl Field. “We were getting super antsy … We came out, swinging, in the first inning, and that gave us some confidence.”

Glosick worked the first three innings on the mound before handing the ball to Greenwood teammate Jackson Lee, also a middle infielder when he isn’t on the mound.

It proved to be a winning combination.

“They were chomping at the bit, waiting to play,” Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers said. “I think it started, our momentum, when we finished practice (Tuesday). The kids came in today determined, focused.

“We wanted to be patient (offensively). Swing at strikes. Not to expand the (strike) zone.”

That’s exactly what the Gators did in the first inning, scoring five runs before Bowling Green took its first at bat.

Greenwood, ranked No. 18, statewide, by Kentucky Sports Radio and ON3, improved to 16-8 overall and 2-1 in the KHSAA’s cut-throat 14th District.

The Purples, meanwhile, dropped to 20-4 and 2-1, respectively.

Bowling Green has lost three of its last five games, and the Purples will try to change that narrative in Game Two of the critical 14th District series, when they make the short trip up Scottsville Road to tangle with the Gators on Thursday.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

“It’s like football. When you get ‘behind the chains,’ it makes it a lot tougher for you, offensively,” BGHS coach Nathan Isenberg said. “I was mostly disappointed in our mental approach. The effort was there, certainly, but you’ve got to keep things at an even keel.

“When you fall behind like that, it’s trouble.”

The Gators’ patience at the plate paid huge dividends against Bowling Green’s starting pitcher, senior left-hander Jack Cowan.

Cowan faced seven Greenwood batters in the top of the first inning, retiring only one, before yielding to sophomore BGHS reliever Ian Wells. The Gators put up a 5-spot and watched the Purples climb back, within striking distance, before taking control once and for all with three runs in the top of the fifth.

“I felt like we had good energy, out there tonight,” Greenwood shortstop Kioshi Une said when it was over. “We were able to pick each other up.”

It was Jason Jaggers’ 300th career victory, against 229 defeats, in his 16 years as the Gators’ head coach. (Including the 2020 season wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.) Jaggers’ players paid tribute to their coach on the left-field line after the game, before scattering into the night, with Game Two taking on an added significance within the KHSAA’s 14th District.

Especially for Bowling Green.

Greenwood and South Warren each won a single game in their opening district series, while Bowling Green rolled to back-to-back, run-rule victories over Warren Central last week. The KHSAA 14th District Tournament will unfold, less than a month from now, at South Warren High School, with two squads moving onto the 4th Region Tournament at WKU’s Nick Denes Field.

Jaggers had decided to go with senior right-hander Whitt Glosick, for the series opener against the Purples, even before the game was pushed back 48 hours because of safety concerns. Still, Greenwood’s Jackson Lee wanted to warm up in the bullpen, simultaneously, with Glosick before Wednesday’s game, to help him get a feel for the job when he took the mound in the fourth.

“I like a little extra time to get ready,” Lee said.

The Gators’ offense was certainly ready at the outset.

Lee and Glosick drew back-to-back walks, to open the game, before junior GHS shortstop Kioshi Une sliced a run-scoring double into the right-field corner. Bowling Green’s Jack Cowan retired Greenwood’s cleanup hitter, senior outfielder Chaze Huff, on a ground ball, but Greenwood’s Henry Justice drew a walk before GHS catcher Griffin Veazey lined a single into center field, scoring Glosick from third base.

Ethan York, Greenwood’s sophomore first baseman, then drew a bases-loaded walk, at which point BGHS head coach Nathan Isenberg and his first-year pitching coach, Greg Scheer, decided to go to the bullpen.

Sophomore right-hander Ian Wells gave up a run-scoring hit, John Kincaide’s single through the left side, before Greenwood’s Sam Holder made it 5-0 with a sacrifice fly.

All before the Purples had a chance to swing the bat.

“We talked to our pitchers about the ‘freebie war,’ walks, hit by pitches, wild pitches, that kind of thing,” Isenberg said. “We just dug ourselves a big hole immediately.”

The Purples’ Henry Phillips, an EIGHTH GRADER, gave his team a solid 3 1/3 innings on the mound before yielding to BGHS senior Landon Gilbert in the fifth. Bowling Green third baseman Matt Mosley, a transfer from South Warren High School, had two hits for the Purples, including a double in the bottom of the second.

Greenwood continued to show patience at the plate, as BGHS pitchers combined for nine walks. On the mound, Greenwood’s Whit Glosick earned his fifth victory against three defeats, while Jackson Lee claimed his second save of the season.

Isenberg plans to start senior right-hander Logan Johnson (3-1, 1.75 ERA) in Game Two on Thursday, while Jaggers will counter with junior right-hander Mason Crosby, who is unbeaten in five decisions with a sparkling 0.97 ERA.