They haven’t lost the District 13 tournament since 2008, but beyond that, the last time they lost a game in the double elimination format was in 2009. For two years straight, Albemarle Post 74 has run through the District 13 tournament with relative ease. Thanks to a balanced offensive and a complete game showing from starter Austin Turner, Post 74 dispatched Staunton Post 13 in eight innings, 10-0.
“We came out swinging, hitting the ball really well,” said Albemarle coach Mike Maynard. “We got into a bit of a lull there but I was glad we got out of this game early. There were some pretty hard shots.”
The Post 74 started and finished on a roll. In the first, Ferrum-bound Ryan Morris made it 1-0 on an RBI single that scored Ryan Leake.
“Whoever they threw at us, we were just trying to disrupt their rhythm and get on base,” Morris said. “We just wanted to score a lot of runs so that we didn’t have to be on the wrong side of the bracket.”
In the next inning, Albemarle tacked on five runs to take a 6-0 lead. Brett Johnson and Jack Maynard started the rally with back-to-back singles. Johnson scored on a wild pitch while Josh Malm was able to drive in Maynard. Keegan Woolford then found the gap in left-center to pick up an RBI double. Ryan Leake then followed through with the exact same thing. After a Lee Carneal sacrifice fly, Morris picked up another RBI single to plate Leake.
The early advantage was more than enough for Turner to work with on the mound into a CG shutout as he worked through the first three innings without giving up a hit and allowing just two base runners.
“I was able to keep my pitch count down and the defense was great as always,” Turner said. “I love pitching complete games and keeping that pitch count down helped so much, my arm felt great all the way through and if we needed to go out for one more inning, I easily could have gone back out.”
In the fourth and fifth with leadoff signgles, but Turner and his defense behind him did not allow either runner into scoring position. In the fourth a pair of pop-flies followed by a strikeout ended that threat. And a 5-4-3 double play from Maynard to Austin Batten to Leake allowed Turner to finish off the fifth with another strikeout.
“Austin threw great and got 90 pitches in, he was ready to go out for the ninth, but thankful he didn’t have to,” Maynard said. “He’s got a rubber arm and hopefully he can come back if we need him Thursday. (The complete game) that saved all our other pitches and allows us to throw
Offensively, Albemarle had to wait until the seventh and eighth to get busy again, but they picked up what they needed to end the game early highlighted by an RBI single from Spencer Breeden and a 2-run walk off single from Austin Batten.
Albemarle moves on to the winner’s bracket where they will play at Spotsylvania Post 320. Post 74 needs just two more wins to secure a fourth straight state berth.
