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Never say die: Miller comes back to beat Paul VI with one out in seventh

Most of the game was three up, three down. Paul VI starter Patrick Ashby and Miller starter Ethan Chenault both went six and two third innings deep into Tuesday evening’s meeting in Crozet. While Chenault wound up with a no-decision on the mound, his RBI single in the seventh inning with two outs was a welcome consolation prize in a 3-2 victory for the Mavericks in an absolutely fantastic high school regular season baseball game.

 

“That’s a well coached team that defended us so well, took a lot of hits from us and (Ashby) pitched a great game,” said Miller coach Billy Wagner. “The guys hung in there, stayed positive and got the win. It was a fun game, great game to watch.”

 

Down 2-0 in the fifth, the Mavericks got a 1-out double from Jack Carey, the first of two big hits from him. Jeremy Wagner traded places with him at second with an RBI double in the next at-bat to cut it to 2-1. But not long later, Miller was on the ropes.

 

With just one out left in the bottom of the seventh, Carey then came to the plate looking to get something started. On a truly windy day that favored the defenses, Carey managed to crank a ball the opposite way to right field to tie things up with his solo shot.

 

“All game I saw he’d miss low and in or out on good pitches, I struggled in my first at-bat,” Carey said. “For the rest of the game I opened up a little bit more in my stance and when he threw that miss inside I went after a piece of that ball to let it fly. I saw it well. It was exciting. Hitting a homerun like that, it’s not a walkoff but with two outs you just get so excited, it got us pumped up.”

 

Momentum carried over as the Mavericks dugout came to life. Singles from Wagner and Jack Marshall set the table for Chenault who on a 1-2 count, doubled down the line to left to score Wagner for the walkoff win.

 

“Jeremy got on base and then Jack Marshall with a hit through the 4-hole kept it going,” Chennault said. “Coach Wagner kept reminding me to keep my composure, stay back, drive the ball. I got deep in the count and was getting a little worried but I stayed composed and tried to help my team. That was all.”

 

On the other side of things, the Panthers got to Chenault just once, in the top of the third. A John Barrie single followed by a stolen base and throwing error put him on third base. That set up an RBI single from Mathew Coritz. Another single, sacrifice bunt and error allowed Coritz to plate and make it 2-0.

 

“I actually thought this was Ethan’s best game pitching all year, he was hammering the zone,” Wagner said. “He located his fastball, the slider’s been good all year but today it was all about his fastball. He set the tone spotting that up. They got to him in the one inning but he kept his poise and kept doing good things so that’s a big plus.”

 

Miller threatened in the second inning with three straight 2-out singles, but Ashby escaped the jam unscatched with a groundout to second.

 

“He kept us so off-balance, pitched a heck of a game and got us to hit a lot of ball off the end of the bat,” Wagner said. “I feel bad for him because he pitched so well but we had to earn the win and that probably is the most well played game, cleanest game we’ve played all year.”

 

Matt Sykes picked up the win in relief, getting his lone batter to line out to right field. Chenault might not have picked up the win, but in his six and two third innings pitched he struck out eight batters, gave up just one earned run and four hits.

 

“It was just staying composed, taking deep breaths and pounding the zone, pounding the zone big time,” Chenault said.

 

At the plate, Wagner and Chennault were both 2-for-4 with an RBI. Carey finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.

 

The Mavericks (13-6) jump right back into action with a road trip to face another VISAA D1 squad in Benedictine on the road Wednesday at 5 p.m.

 

“Beating a big time team like this it’s good for us,” Chenault said. “It builds confidence especially going into a big game tomorrow. Confidence is a huge thing in baseball.”

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