Lynchburg-Clay sees season come to close in district semifinals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CHILLICOTHE — The Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs trailed, then took the lead, but in the end came up just short of upsetting the No. 1 overall seeded Wheelersburg Pirates, falling 4-3 in the Division III SE District Semifinals.
The loss at VA Memorial Stadium ends the Mustangs' season at 21-5 overall. LC went 11-2 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, winning the Division I SHAC championship for the third time in the past four seasons.
LC head coach Garyn Waits spoke highly of the play of his team.
"This was a good ball game," Waits said. "We had (eight) hits but just weren't on the right side of the scoreboard.
"It wasn't a perfect game on either side, but our guys have nothing to hold their heads down about."
Wheelersburg are two-time state champions, and they knocked the Mustangs out of the district tournament two seasons ago.
LC didn't make the game easy at all for WHS, as LC trailed by a 2-0 score after two innings. LC came back with two runs in the fourth, and what turned out to be their final runs of the season in the fifth inning.
The Mustangs took the lead in the top of the aforementioned fifth inning as Devin Pierson singled to the outfield to get on the bases, Pierson then moved to third on an errant throw to first on a ball hit by Gage Waits, who was caught in a run down at second base. In that process, Pierson slid safely into third base.
Pierson scored on a base hit to right field by Cory Snider, for what was a 3-2 advantage at the time. Snider finished 2-for-4.
LC continued to add base runners with one out, as Lanier moved Snider to third on a double over the right fielder's head, giving LC runners on second and third. Both were left stranded, as the WHS pitcher struck out the next two LC batters.
The Pirates didn't walk the plank for the remainder of the game, though; in fact, they came back and tied the game with a base hit by Nick Marshall to left field, scoring pinch-runner Jordan Howard for the 3-3 score. Cameron Parsley walked to start the inning for the Pirates, as he was replaced on the bases by Howard.
WHS didn't stop applying pressure in the bottom of the fifth as Austin May put the Pirates back ahead at 4-3 by hitting a ground ball to second, allowing Jacob Roe to slide home before the tag at the plate, eventually being the game-winning run.
"We played our hearts out, and the sad part is this is the last game for the seniors," Waits said. "We didn't play afraid, and I'm proud of their effort."
Earlier in the game, LC trailed by a 2-0 score, but LC tied it at 2-2 in the top of the fourth.
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When trailing by two runs, the Mustangs rallied to tie the score with Chaz Lanier and Andrew Reuss crossing home plate.
The top of the fourth inning opened with Lanier racing down the first base line, reaching first base with an infield base hit. From there, with one out, Reuss walked and scored on a ground out in the infield by Christian Inman, for the 2-2 score.
In the first inning, Wheelersburg took a 1-0 lead as Dylan Miller scored off an RBI single to right field hit by Parsley. To reach the bases, Miller doubled to right field in nearly the same spot as Parsley, but the ball bounced past the right fielder.
WHS added to their lead in the second with a run scored by Michael Green, who rounded the bases (after being walked) on a base hit to centerfield with two outs.
The Mustangs threatened early on with two base runners in the first inning with Devin Pierson and Gage Waits reaching the bases with singles to left and centerfield.
Gaining the win for the Pirates was junior Zach Russell. He allowed three runs on eight hits and three walks. The junior struck out seven batters in seven innings.
In the final two innings, LC had just one base runner.
The loss was charged to Gage Waits, who pitched four innings and to three batters in the fifth. He allowed four earned runs on five hits and five walks.
Pierson pitched two innings of relief. He allowed no runs on no hits, no walks and three strikeouts.
LC graduates four seniors in Josh Bauer, Lanier, Waits and Ryan Inman.
"I've coached three of them since they were 5 years old, so they are a very special and close group to me," Waits said. "Two of the four seniors (Waits, Lanier) have started in 93 games as they are four-year starters, and Ryan and Josh are three-year starters."
The loss at VA Memorial Stadium ends the Mustangs' season at 21-5 overall. LC went 11-2 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, winning the Division I SHAC championship for the third time in the past four seasons.
LC head coach Garyn Waits spoke highly of the play of his team.
"This was a good ball game," Waits said. "We had (eight) hits but just weren't on the right side of the scoreboard.
"It wasn't a perfect game on either side, but our guys have nothing to hold their heads down about."
Wheelersburg are two-time state champions, and they knocked the Mustangs out of the district tournament two seasons ago.
LC didn't make the game easy at all for WHS, as LC trailed by a 2-0 score after two innings. LC came back with two runs in the fourth, and what turned out to be their final runs of the season in the fifth inning.
The Mustangs took the lead in the top of the aforementioned fifth inning as Devin Pierson singled to the outfield to get on the bases, Pierson then moved to third on an errant throw to first on a ball hit by Gage Waits, who was caught in a run down at second base. In that process, Pierson slid safely into third base.
Pierson scored on a base hit to right field by Cory Snider, for what was a 3-2 advantage at the time. Snider finished 2-for-4.
LC continued to add base runners with one out, as Lanier moved Snider to third on a double over the right fielder's head, giving LC runners on second and third. Both were left stranded, as the WHS pitcher struck out the next two LC batters.
The Pirates didn't walk the plank for the remainder of the game, though; in fact, they came back and tied the game with a base hit by Nick Marshall to left field, scoring pinch-runner Jordan Howard for the 3-3 score. Cameron Parsley walked to start the inning for the Pirates, as he was replaced on the bases by Howard.
WHS didn't stop applying pressure in the bottom of the fifth as Austin May put the Pirates back ahead at 4-3 by hitting a ground ball to second, allowing Jacob Roe to slide home before the tag at the plate, eventually being the game-winning run.
"We played our hearts out, and the sad part is this is the last game for the seniors," Waits said. "We didn't play afraid, and I'm proud of their effort."
Earlier in the game, LC trailed by a 2-0 score, but LC tied it at 2-2 in the top of the fourth.
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When trailing by two runs, the Mustangs rallied to tie the score with Chaz Lanier and Andrew Reuss crossing home plate.
The top of the fourth inning opened with Lanier racing down the first base line, reaching first base with an infield base hit. From there, with one out, Reuss walked and scored on a ground out in the infield by Christian Inman, for the 2-2 score.
In the first inning, Wheelersburg took a 1-0 lead as Dylan Miller scored off an RBI single to right field hit by Parsley. To reach the bases, Miller doubled to right field in nearly the same spot as Parsley, but the ball bounced past the right fielder.
WHS added to their lead in the second with a run scored by Michael Green, who rounded the bases (after being walked) on a base hit to centerfield with two outs.
The Mustangs threatened early on with two base runners in the first inning with Devin Pierson and Gage Waits reaching the bases with singles to left and centerfield.
Gaining the win for the Pirates was junior Zach Russell. He allowed three runs on eight hits and three walks. The junior struck out seven batters in seven innings.
In the final two innings, LC had just one base runner.
The loss was charged to Gage Waits, who pitched four innings and to three batters in the fifth. He allowed four earned runs on five hits and five walks.
Pierson pitched two innings of relief. He allowed no runs on no hits, no walks and three strikeouts.
LC graduates four seniors in Josh Bauer, Lanier, Waits and Ryan Inman.
"I've coached three of them since they were 5 years old, so they are a very special and close group to me," Waits said. "Two of the four seniors (Waits, Lanier) have started in 93 games as they are four-year starters, and Ryan and Josh are three-year starters."