Blythewood’s Jordyn Adams makes a face-first effort, but is tagged out at the plate. (Photo/Kristy Kimball Massey)
BLYTHEWOOD – Stranding two baserunners in the bottom of the second inning wound up costing the Blythewood baseball team Tuesday night.
Spring Valley put three runs across in the fourth and held off a late rally to get past the Bengals 3-2 at the Blythewood baseball stadium.
“The name of the game was we had runners on and we couldn’t get the big hit,” Blythewood head coach Barry Mizzell said. “You have to give it to their kid (Spring Valley pitcher Tyler Baker). Their kid made some pitches. We had runners in scoring position all night long, but we just couldn’t get them in.”
With the game scoreless going into the bottom of the second, Blythewood’s Chandler Harrison led off with a double to left field. Baker struck out Tripper Ergle and Jacob Davis, but Aiden Massey’s single to right moved Harrison to third. Massey moved to second as Spring Valley (8-10) threw to keep Harrison from scoring.
That play set the table for Barrette Grant, but Grant struck out looking to end the inning.
Then Blythewood (13-5) gave up three runs on two hits and two errors in the fourth.
Baker bunt singled to lead off for the Vikings. He moved to second on Ethan Jedziniak’s infield sacrifice, and Mark Doroux drew a walk to put runners at first and second with one out.
Matt Ross reached base on a ground ball between second and third. In the effort to get the force out on Baker as he was going to third, Ergle made a bad throw to Davis, who was covering the bag. Baker was eventually caught in a rundown after he rounded third, keeping Doreaux at second and Ross at first with two outs.
Doroux scored the first run of the game when Ronald Hollins reached on an infield error.
Both Ross and Hollins scored on John Cassibry’s long double to right. Cassibry was thrown out going into third to end the inning.
“I think we hit the ball hard tonight,” Spring Valley head coach Collin Liggett said. “We had three hits in the first inning, one in the second, and it carried over into the fourth.
Blythewood got two runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Davis hit a leadoff double, and after Massey struck out, moved to third on Grant’s single up the middle. Jordyn Adams then drove both runs in with a one-out triple into the right centerfield gap.
At that point, the Blythewood bats looked to reverse the damage done in the fourth. Crook, however, slapped a ball straight to Baker, who threw to Doroux at first for one out, and Doroux completed the inning-ending double play throwing to Jedziniak at the plate.
The Bengals had the tying run on base in the sixth and seventh innings, but stranded it each time.
Baker worked a complete game, scattering eight hits and striking out five. Blythewood gave him trouble early on, but Liggett said the right-hander knew enough to settle down.
“He’s got a good fastball, got some movement to it and he just knows how to compete,” Liggett said. “He’s a very good athlete, and when it gets to that situation he just wants the ball in his hands.”
Blythewood starter Jacob Davis took the loss. The right-hander escaped a pair of jams in the first and second innings and also pitched a complete game, giving up seven hits and striking out six.
“Our kid pitched great,” Mizzell said, “but we make an error and they hit a double right after that. We’re not playing bad. We were one play away from winning that game. We’re going to get better and we’re going to keep playing.”
SV: 0-0-0 3-0-0 0 – 3-7-0
BHS: 0-0-0 0-2-0 0 – 2-8-2
B: Jacob Davis, (L), and Andrew Crook. S: Tyler Baker (W) and Ethan Jedziniak. 2B: (S) Hayden Goff, Baker, John Cassibry (B) Justin Lang-Spittler, Chandler Henderson, Davis. 3B: (B) Jordyn Adams. LOB – Spring Valley 3, Blythewood 6.
