CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – After Montgomery Central baseball took game one of the regular-season series in nine innings by a final score of 1-0 in a pitcher’s duel a day earlier, the narrative was a lot different Tuesday when the Indians traveled to face West Creek in game two.
MCHS’s offense bounced back in a big way, pounding out 11 hits en route to a 17-7 victory to secure the sweep over the Coyotes.
FINAL
Montgomery Central 17@wcreekbaseball 7The Indians win this one by double digits after taking game one yesterday in a pitcher’s duel. pic.twitter.com/6shfUnfDec
— Neil Rye (@NryeTBB) April 28, 2021
“It’s just how crazy baseball is,” said Montgomery Central baseball coach Todd Dunn. “Last night, nobody scored until the bottom of the ninth. Tonight was just a slugfest. With them having trouble throwing strikes and us getting a few big hits, that kind of iced the game for us.”
The backstop behind home plate at West Creek is by far the longest in the district, putting immense pressure on pitchers not to throw wild pitches and on catchers not to allow passed balls.
West Creek baseball coach Scott Loose gave his thoughts on the dimensions of their home field and the issues that can potentially arise because of them.
“If I had the money I would cut that thing in half,” Loose said. “It’s huge and even for pitchers too. It’s tough on the catcher, but then that pitcher is in his mind thinking if he can bury that curveball in the dirt or not. Because if that ball gets by a high school catcher on ball four, then that guy is on base and probably second base at that point too. Behind first base is tough too. You get an overthrow and the guy goes from first to third. It’s a project that we would like to shorten the field up a little bit.”
Game summary
Montgomery Central jumped out in front 1-0 in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly from senior Mark Rye. Landon Welborn scored the run after advancing from first to third on a pick-off attempt that was off the mark.
In the top of the second inning after West Creek’s starting pitcher began to struggle with his command, Rye drove in two Indians with a base hit through the left side of the infield to make it 5-0.
Indians starting pitcher Dakoda Kessler made it through the first two innings rather unscathed before running into some trouble in the bottom of the third.
The Coyotes were able to cut the deficit in half and only trailed 6-3, heading into the fourth frame.
Bottom of the 3rd@wcreekbaseball cuts the deficit in half, as each runner comes home to score on wild pitches. The Coyotes now trail 6-3. pic.twitter.com/Si3iR5pDQO
— Neil Rye (@NryeTBB) April 28, 2021
“He’s pitched great all year long,” Dunn said of Kessler. “He just had a little bit of an off night. He usually does not struggle with control. He has a great curveball and spots the fastball good. It’s a long season and that was about his eighth start and I think six of them have been lights out, so you can’t ask no more than that.”
Kessler finished three innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out five batters in the win.
After a two-out double from Timmy Campbell in the top of the fifth inning, Rye grew the lead back to six runs on an RBI single.
Welborn padded the Indian lead with a two-run single before Jordan Johns made it 14-4 on a pinch-hit line drive.
Top of the 6th
With two down in the inning, Welborn makes it 12-4 Montgomery Central on this hard line drive. pic.twitter.com/pIkN3ayGON— Neil Rye (@NryeTBB) April 28, 2021
West Creek showed some fight late, scratching across three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Montgomery Central tallied three runs of their own in the top of the seventh inning for the final runs of the contest.
Get the ice packs ready
West Creek’s pitching staff was unusually erratic on the night, walking 12 hitters and racking up a total of six hit batsmen in the game.
Top of the 2nd
With the bases loaded and two outs, Landon Welborn is hit by a pitch to bring home Dylan Eddins. 3-0 Indians. pic.twitter.com/TOS5wmRtPK— Neil Rye (@NryeTBB) April 28, 2021
With their lack of depth currently on the mound, Loose is hopeful that his guys will regain their command in order to bounce back in their next outings.
“They haven’t gotten a lot of innings this year,” Loose said. “One of our starting pitchers went down with a broken finger Sunday, so it really threw our rotation out of whack. I just tell those guys to keep working, keep going and try to make the right adjustments.”
Key performers
Coyote freshman Diego Silva reached base three times, recording two hits, two RBIs and a run scored.
After the game, Loose went into great detail about the potential that the talented underclassman possesses.
“We have a ton of freshman, but Diego is just a kid who puts the ball in play,” Loose said. “I think as he gets more baseball smart, gets a little stronger and sees more pitches, the kid has a ton of potential. All year long, he has just hit the ball hard and done a lot of really good stuff for us. It’ll be exciting to see what he does in the coming years.”
Rye finished the contest, going 3-for-3 with a game-high six RBIs.
“Mark has turned out this year to be our best hitter,” Dunn said. “He has been our most clutch hitter, has the highest average and has really carried us offensively. We’ve been on and off hitting, but he’s pretty much been on the whole year. He’s showing great leadership, he plays some first, plays some outfield and has always been at the top of the lineup every single game this year.”
Up next
Montgomery Central (18-7) has wrapped up its regular-season league schedule and will play three non-district games to close out the campaign.
Dunn shared how he plans to deploy his team over that stretch, beginning with Todd County Central Saturday, May 1, at 10 a.m. on the road.
“We have two games Saturday, one Monday and a couple days of practice before the tournament,” Dunn said. “I’d really like to try and keep everybody sharp and also get some kids in that may pinch hit or be defensive subs because in the tournament, you never know what’s going to happen. I’ve been to a few district championships over the last few years and it always seems like that unlikely person is the one that gets you through to win one.”
West Creek (7-12) will take on first-place Clarksville High to end its docket for the regular season in a District 10-AAA series, starting Friday, April 30, at 6:30 p.m. at home.
“Clarksville is going to be tough because they’re really good,” Loose said. “I want to see us compete. They’ve obviously been good for a long time and we’ve been a program that’s been mediocre at best at times. I want us to get the CHS and the colors out of our mind and just play ball. If we can do that, then I think our guys can compete with them.”