Mustangs gallop away; upset in sectional final
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — Division I Southern Hills League champion Lynchburg-Clay didn't have the hot bat Friday at Lynchburg-Clay High School. The Mustangs uncharacteristically struggled at the plate, being held to a single run, ending its season at the Division III SE District Sectional final to the Huntington Huntsmen 4-1.
"Hats off to Huntington. They played a heck of a game," LC head coach Aric Fiscus said. "Their pitcher did a good job."
The upset loss wraps up a highly successful season for the Mustangs as they were undefeated in the SHL a 13-0 and end their season with an overall record of 17-3.
"The harsh thing about tournament play is that you have to dwell on one game," Fiscus said. "The problem with that is the rest of the season gets lost with the way this one ended. I want the guys to remember what they did this season. They did some things a lot of teams haven't done in a very long time."
LC held the lead in the bottom of the second inning, scoring its lone run with two outs.
Dallas Puckett reached the bases with a single to shallow left field. The RBI came off the bat of Brad Barger, who doubled to centerfield.
The Mustangs held the lead until the top of the fourth inning where the Huntsmen, who had four league wins this season in the Southern Buckeye Conference, woke up, scoring three runs in the inning.
Duane Irvin began the inning with a lead-off triple to centerfield. After LC starting pitcher Brad Barger forced a fly out to centerfield and a ground out to third base, the Huntsmen scored its first run off a base hit by Bryce Vickers, which landed in right field.
Cody Vinnings singled scoring Vickers for the 2-1 lead.
A final insurance run came in the top of the fifth for the Huntsmen when Kyle Deal, who doubled, scored on a error by the Mustangs.
One thing the Mustangs excelled in was picking off base runners as LC three times, once forcing a run down in between home plate and third base.
Barger had a 1-2-3 inning in the third, striking out two batters and forcing a fly ball to centerfield where Andrew Magie caught the ball for the innings final out.
The winning pitcher was Casey Guilloms. He pitched all seven innings, allowing one run (none earned) on six hits and two walks. The HHS pitcher had eight strikeouts with two coming in the first inning.
"We saw him on Tuesday and he was even able to transform from then," Fiscus said. "He kept us off-balanced and on this day Huntington deserved to go on in the tournament."
Barger was charged with the loss. He pitched four innings, allowing three runs (three earned) on five hits and no walks. Barger had three strikeouts. Ryan Doss pitched three innings of relief for LC, allowing one run (none earned) on two hits, one hit batter and no walks, along with one strikeout.
"I don't think our pitching was bad," Fiscus said. "They (HHS) put the ball into play and we usually respond in the infield, and at times today, we didn't."
Seniors playing their final game for the Mustangs were: Cody Roush, Dalton Cox, Dakota Dye, Andrew Magie, Jake Back, Kyle Yocum, Darren Harp, Aaron Skaggs, Kris Moberly and Ray Doss.
"I want to congratulate the 10 seniors on their season," Fiscus said. "They were able to transform themselves from last season and turned into a good baseball team."
BOX SCORE
HHS 000 310 0 - 4 7 1
LC 010 000 0 - 1 6 2
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