Steady goes the Purples/Maners, Davenport guide BGHS past Greenwood 8-5

EFFICIENT BOWLING GREEN SQUAD STAYS UNBEATEN IN 14TH DISTRICT PLAY

Dillon Maners, Bowling Green High School’s steady left-hander, didn’t have his best stuff in Monday night’s 8-5 victory over crosstown rival Greenwood at Corey Hart Ballpark.

The Purples’ ace earned his fourth victory in five decisions, turning in an effective five innings before yielding to BGHS reliever Ben Davenport.

Davenport took care of the task at hand, sending BGHS to its third consecutive victory. The Purples (17-5) return to their home field this evening hoping to complete a two-game sweep of the Gators in KHSAA 14th District play on Tuesday.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

“Sometimes, you’ve got to work with what you’ve got,” Maners said afterward. “I just tried to throw strikes. Be as consistent as you can. You’ve just got to adjust with what you’ve got.

“The pitcher’s mound here is about eight feet tall … It’s a mountain. That was a big adjustment. Definitely.”

Maners was exaggerating, of course, but the pitcher’s mound did appear to be considerably higher than the standard 10 inches. The umpires signed off on it during warmups, however, so it was fair game either way.

Bowling Green, the No. 1-ranked squad in the KHSAA’s 14th District, is unbeaten in three league games. BGHS coach Nathan Isenberg’s club played five times in seven days during Spring Break last week, stretching the Purples’ bullpen almost to the limit. But Maners’ efficiency set the tone for Monday’s game, dropping the Gators to 12-7 on the season.

Maners needed 102 pitches to finish the fifth inning and gave up five runs, just two of them earned runs, while walking five batters and striking out four. The location on his fastball was a little sporadic, but he gutted it out with senior BGHS catcher Spencer Newman.

“Change speeds, throw strikes,” Isenberg said. “That’s the name of the game.”

It certainly was Monday night.

James Russell, the Gators’ starting pitcher, gave up at least one run in each of his four innings on the hill. BGHS outfielder Turner Nottmeier’s two-run single in the fourth inning extended the Purples’ lead to 8-2, and that’s when Greenwood coach Jason Jaggers turned to his bullpen and sophomore reliever Cooper Davis.

The Gators loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, before striking for three runs to make it 8-5, but they’d get no closer on a chilly, damp night.

Light rain fell off and on over the course of the game, which made it difficult to get a good grip on the ball, as Maners acknowledged when it was over.

The Gators’ offense stranded seven base runners, four of them in scoring position, and they had a man thrown out at the plate to end the first inning.

“We left some runners on base. We didn’t get the timely hit when we needed it,” Jaggers said.

Jaggers liked the way Gators relievers Cooper Davis and Blake Marks finished the game, but Bowling Green never trailed and made the most of its eight-hit attack.

Newman delivered a two-run single in the top of the third inning, and the sturdy catcher in was one of four BGHS players — Turner Nottmeier, Nathaniel Roof and leadoff man Blake Ginter were the others — to finish the game with two RBIs.

Nottmeier opened the third inning with a triple to center field off Russell, and he finished the night 3-for-4.

Jaggers twice intentionally walked BGHS star Patrick Forbes, which kept the University of Louisville signee on the bases but unable to do much at the plate.

Forbes, the Purples’ senior shortstop/pitcher, is sporting an amazing .563 batting average, with NINE HOME RUNS, in 22 games, and a team-high 37 RBIs.

Isenberg said Forbes has had to get used to opponents pitching around him. He wasn’t thrilled when the Gators pulled to within 8-5 with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Greenwood outfielder Rhett Disholm delivered a two-run double to the left-field corner in that frame, before scoring on James Russell’s sacrifice fly.

Maners battled out of the jam by striking out the Gators’ Joseph Rahill to end the fifth.

BGHS right-hander Dawson Hall, who will be pitching next year at Western Kentucky University, will get the start for the Purples on Tuesday. Jaggers said the GHS coaching staff was still evaluating its options for Game Two.

The Gators have won five of their last seven games.

“Sometimes, when you get a big lead, you can lose a little bit of your edge,” Isenberg said. “When you get to district play, anything can happen. You can really just throw out the records when you play a district opponent.”

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