By Liz Keller / ScrimmagePlay.com contributor
MINERAL — It took until the seventh inning, but Kettle Run finally settled into a rhythm.
After being shut down by Louisa County ace Gunnar Carroll for the first six innings, the Cougars used a two-out rally in the top of the seventh to get past the Lions in the first round of the Region II tournament on Monday night.
The visitors, thanks to a three-RBI double from Connor Adams prevailed for the 5-3 victory and advanced to the semifinals on Wednesday. Kettle Run (17-6) will face Potomac Falls, a winner over Handley in the quarterfinals.
“For our guys in the first time ever being in a regional like this, second-year school, I think we were doing a lot of guessing at the plate,” Kettle Run coach Ty Thorpe said. “We had a couple at-bats there with two strikes, we put the ball in play and good things happened. Connor Adams came up huge with that double to the gap to clear the bases.”
But for the first six innings, the game was a pitcher’s duel. Carroll was masterful on the mound, tossing a shutout through the first five innings. The Army commit allowed Adams to get on with a bunt single in the sixth inning before retiring the next three batters to get out of the inning. Carroll recorded eight strikeouts and Louisa’s defense was solid behind him through the first six innings.
Kettle Run starter Jamie Driver was also effective, allowing just four baserunners until the final frame. The Cougars’ defense made the plays as well, turning a nifty 6-4-3 double play to end the fourth inning.
In the seventh, Kettle Run loaded the bases with three straight base hits from the heart of the batting order — Zach Phillips, David Stuart and Kyle Reinaldo. Justin Rodriguez hit the ball right to the Louisa first baseman, who didn’t make the play at first, but threw home where catcher Jeff Buckler made the tag to get the runner out at the plate. But Adams’ double to right-center field gave the visitors the 3-0 lead. The Cougars, the Evergreen District’s runner-up, tacked on two more runs with RBI singles from Mac Graham and Justin Reinaldo.
“Not to take anything away from [Gunnar Carroll], he threw awesome, he played great,” Thorpe said. “But in our district, (our rival) Brentsville, their No. 1 and No. 2 both throw in the 80s and have nasty offspeed stuff, and I think that’s really what helped us. Our guys, after having an at-bat or two, were like, ‘This is no different than seeing [Justin] Weaver or [Austin] Hale from Brentsville.’ And they just settled in and good things happened.”
Louisa (14-7), the Jefferson District’s regular season and tournament champion, used a two-out rally of its own to climb back into it in the bottom of the seventh.
Carroll and Wes Tester each had base hits and Buckler drew a walk to load the bases for Louisa before Jimmy Dunnavant cleared the bases with a bloop double to right center. It wasn’t enough, but Louisa coach Kevin Fisher was pleased with his team’s resiliency.
“Coming back (from) five runs (down) in one inning is tough, and we fought and I’m proud of my guys,” Fisher said. “I’ve enjoyed these kids the entire year, and I enjoyed them tonight. They kept working and fighting and didn’t give up.”
Fisher spoke glowingly about his eight seniors, who he has coached from the JV level.
“They’ve meant a lot to me this year. This senior group, they play the game the right way, they work the right way in practice and they’re just a good group of kids who do what you ask them to do,” Fisher said. “And that’s all you can do when you get to this level — get the kids to buy into it and when they buy into it, it makes life much easier for coaches.”
