Teams prepare as baseball tournament play arrives

By Steve Keenan
Sports Editor

May 05, 2008 01:28 pm

— Oak Hill has logged an outstanding baseball season that included 26 wins and just two losses.
But coach Chris Walls knows that scintillating record will mean little to his team’s three adversaries when sectional tournament play commences this week.
“We’ve just got to play seven innings,” says Walls, whose team was bounced out of section play last spring after a similar outstanding regular season. “Here lately, we’ve played only five or six innings and got lucky.”
The Red Devils will be involved in a tournament field that also includes host Shady Spring, Independence and Webster County. The No. 2 Red Devils face the No. 3 Highlanders at 4 p.m. today, followed by No. 1 Independence versus No. 4 Shady at 6:30 p.m. Two games will be played at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, followed by single contests at 6 p.m. on subsequent nights.
In the regular season, Oak Hill split with Independence, winning 6-0 and losing 15-5 after blowing a 4-0 lead. The Devils turned back Webster 18-0 and 12-0.
And, on Thursday, they defeated Shady Spring 8-5 in their only meeting. Frankie McGraw homered and got the mound win in relief of Aaron McComas. Tyler Oliver was 2-for-4, including a pair of doubles, and Marcellas McFarland, Garrett Thompson, Rob Stephens and Dustin Nuckels also knocked in runs.
McGraw, a senior third baseman/pitcher, is leading the Red Devils’ offensive attack with a .511 average with five home runs, seven doubles, two triples and 33 RBIs. He’s also scored 37 runs and stolen 17 bases. Shortstop Stephens is next at .488 with 51 runs, 23 stolen bases, 12 two-baggers and 26 RBIs. Also above the .400 barrier is Tyler Zimm, who plays centerfield and pitches. Zimm is hitting at a .418 clip with 43 runs, 23 RBIs and five doubles.
Also contributing have been: McComas, catcher/pitcher, .341 with seven doubles and 38 RBIs; McFarland, outfield, .346 with 10 RBIs; Chris Chapman (currently injured), with a .338 average and 18 RBIs; Oliver, second base, .325, 26 runs, 21 RBIs; Nuckels, LF/P, .306, 12 RBIs and 18 runs; and first baseman Thompson, .274, 17 runs, four homers and 14 RBIs.
In particular, Oliver has shown great progress in recent weeks, Walls says. “He’s been hitting the ball real well. At one point, he was hitting .193, but now we’ve moved him from the eight hole to the four hole. He’s really working on his hands.”
As a team, the Devils are hitting .357 and have outscored the opposition 289-112.
Zimm leads the pitching staff with an 8-0 record in 52.3 innings pitched. He fashioned a 1.60 ERA, struck out 58 and walked only 11. B.J. Wallace, who has been battling an injury but should be ready to go this week, is 5-0 in 30 innings. He has a 3.26 ERA and fanned 35 batters. Nuckels is also 5-0, as well as posting a pair of saves. His ERA is 4.58, and he fanned 31. In 24.6 innings, McComas is 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA and 27 strikeouts, and McGraw is 4-0 with 25 strikeouts and a 3.75 ERA in 28 innings.
“We’ve got to play 21 outs defensively and offensively as hard as we can,” said Walls. “And our pitchers have to cut down on their walks.
“We can’t afford giving the extra bases.”

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In Class A, Meadow Bridge, Midland Trail and Fayetteville will square off at Hico this week.
On Monday, Meadow Bridge and Midland Trail meet at 5 p.m. The winner faces Fayetteville at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Then, the two losers meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday, with single games following at 5 p.m. Thursday and 5 p.m. Friday, the latter if necessary.
Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for students.
Fayetteville coach Richard Spearen’s team defeated Midland Trail twice last week by scores of 11-0 and 10-2, and the Pirates also got the better of the Wildcats twice this season.
Spearen says that, while he’s happy with his team (13-11 through Friday), he’s not ready to lay claim to the section plaque. “I’m not going to get confident over anything,” he said. “We have a very good team, but we’re still a little young.
“Sometimes the (lack of) maturity comes out.”
Sweeping Midland Trail Wednesday in a doubleheader at Appalachian Power Park and following that with an exciting win against Poca Thursday was good for the Pirates’ outlook heading into tournament play, Spearen said.
“(Beating Trail twice) gives us some confidence,” he said. “And winning the way we did against Poca was huge. We played better than we have all year.”
Against the Dots, Fayetteville was tied at 9-all going into the bottom of the seventh. Nich Carte led off with a double to the centerfield wall, then Frankie Bragg’s single brought him home with the winning run. Bragg also delivered a home run and three more RBIs. Jon Paul Blankenship earned the complete-game win.
“That gave us a little bit of motivation for next week,” Spearen said Friday.
Friday, the Pirates downed Greenbrier West 12-7. Drew Weis (2-for-4 with a double) and Blankenship (2-for-4) each knocked in three runs, Ryan Elkins (2-for-4) drove in two runs, and Troy Hopkins was 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI, in addition to earning the pitching win.
Midland Trail tuned up for the section event by defeating Richwood 7-5 to even its record at 8-8. Jared George fanned 11 Lumberjacks in going the distance on the mound for the Patriots. Dustin Nickell was a perfect 4-for-4 with a homer and a double to pace the MT bats. Hunter Scarbro contributed a double and one RBI.

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On Wednesday, Trail and Fayetteville participated in a twin-bill at Appalachian Power Park, home of the Class A West Virginia Power. The Pirates emerged with wins of 11-0 and 10-2.
In the first game, senior Alex Preast (4-3) tossed a two-hit shutout while striking out nine of the 16 batters he faced. He helped himself at the plate by going 1-for-2 with three runs and three RBIs. Troy Hopkins went 3-for-3 with a two-bagger and four RBIs, and Drew Weis had a triple and two RBIs in two official at-bats.
Jake Crist and Jared George each had a hit for Midland.
The Pirates picked up where they left off in the first game with a leadoff double from Troy Hopkins to open the nightcap. He would eventually score on a two-RBI single from Jon Paul Blankenship.
But the Patriots regrouped after the first game and plated two runs in the first inning off Fayetteville senior Brandon Fox. After a leadoff walk to Dustin Nickell, Crist knocked him in with a double to right field. Crist then scored on a Jarren Dufour hit to knot the game at 2-2.
Fox settled in after the first inning, scattering two more hits and striking out seven. He was aided by a five-run third inning by the Pirates, two more runs in the fourth and one in the fifth for a 10-2 margin.
For FHS, K.C. Dempsey was 2-for-3 and scored three runs, Weis was 2-for-4 and scored twice, Blankenship was 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs, Nich Carte was 1-for-2 and knocked in two, Fox had a double and an RBI, and Hopkins smacked a double.
Crist was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI for the Patriots. Dufour drove in a run, and Mike Mullins was 2-for-2.
— E-mail: skeenan@register-herald.com

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