Yes, it’s no longer a theme, it’s a fact now — this is the deepest pitching crop the Jefferson District has yielded in a long time, maybe ever. And yes, that will be beaten in like a dead horse until the eight teams split off into their respective conferences. But even still, what Western Albemarle and Albemarle put together in a 1-0 win for the Warriors on Tuesday stands out. It was a game with nearly flawless execution.
“I’ve been here for 35 years,” said Western coach Skip Hudgins. “That’s as good a baseball game as we’ve had pitched. That says something. Not just because of how long I’ve been here, but because of how many good pitchers we’ve had.”
And yet, that was just one half of the quality pitching that Tuesday saw. Western’s Derek Domecq and Albemarle’s Scott Reid simply brought it. Both pitched complete games. Both baffled batters. In all, the two combined for 23 strikeouts. But it was the Warriors and Domecq who came out smiling and Albemarle who broke off their postgame huddle wondering what it could have done better. Sometimes, there aren’t a lot of answers.
“We just could not get it done the one chance we had,” said Albemarle coach Jimmy Bibb. “We played great defense, Scott was outstanding on the mound. That was just a really good high school baseball game and that’s apparently what you’re going to get in this district all year long now. Everyone is playing like this. I mean what do you say? You say hats off to them, that they got the run when they needed it.”
Ryan Porter led the game off for Albemarle and put the Patriots in their best position to score in the bottom of the first when he singled — one of only three hits Albemarle got off of Domecq. After a sacrifice bunt and a passed ball, Porter sat at third with just one out. Then Domecq struck out two of his game high 14 batters to get out of the jam unscathed.
Reid, was masterful on the mound too. He only gave up four hits on the day. Between the play of his defense and Reid’s nine strikeouts, the Patriots and Warriors were locked in a pitching duel that seemed to have no end.
“It just makes the game more fun that way as pitcher,” Domecq said. “It’s not a blow out. (Reid) did really well out there hitting his spots. Their team is really good, so credit to them for putting up a good fight.”
Western took to the top of the sixth with a leadoff single from Chris McGahren. And with two outs, it looked as though Garrett Payne had broken the game open with a hard hit ball to the warning track in left field. That was until Chase Miller somehow got on his horse and tracked it down in the most impressive defensive play of the game, and one that ended the inning.
The Warriors had the bottom of the order up in the seventh and with one out, Jack Masloff picked up a walk. After a ground out moved Masloff to second, it was ninth hitter Matt Mandell at the plate.
“You might not believe me, but there wasn’t anyone else I’d rather have at the plate in that moment,” Hudgins said. “It’s what he does for us historically. You think why bat him ninth? It’s not because he’s the ninth best hitter.”
Mandell, who had one of the previous three hits in the game for the Warriors, delivered with a Texas Leaguer over the infield that allowed Masloff to score from second.
“I got a first pitch outside away and we emphasize attacking straight pitches,” Mandell said. “Nine hitters get a lot of fastballs because pitchers want to get ahead of nine hitters. I don’t see to many curveballs and I like that. So then I got one elevated to where I like it. I just lifted it shallow enough so that centerfield couldn’t get it. Jack beat the throw and that’s all we needed.”
That 1-0 was enough for Domecq. The junior struck out out the side in the seventh to wrap up the hard fought win.
“I knew the fastball was working well against them,” Domecq said. “Ryan Sukovich was back behind the plate catching the ball where ever I threw it so I had trust in everything and we came out with the win.”
On the night for Western, Mandell was 2-for-3 with the lone RBI. Masloff was 1-for-2 with a walk and the lone run scored.
For Albemarle, Ryan Porter was 2-for-3 while Andrew Porter was 1-for-2.
The Patriots (3-4) travel to Monticello on Thursday while the Warriors (6-1) will head to Charlottesville.
