Here's the last game I did. It will probably be my last article ever for The Athens Messenger, last as an undergrad as well, but we shall see. Very tired right now and have to get to class so that's all folks.
Spartans gain revenge on Buckeyes in sectional
NICK BROCKMAN
Special to The Messenger
NELSONVILLE - With just one win on the year, and the season on the line, Alexander coach Vaughn Grigsby turned to freshman pitcher Cody Lawson and he wasn't disappointed Tuesday night.
Lawson earned the win after he tossed his first career complete game as the Alexander Spartans ended a 14-game losing streak and beat the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes 5-2 in a Division III Sectional Semifinal baseball game.
"Cody is a competitor," Grigsby said. "Cody has thrown the ball well all year and he's gotten stronger. You can say he's a freshman, but now we're talking next season so to speak. It's tournament time so we're going to call him a sophomore."
Alexander (2-14) jumped out early with four runs in the first inning to provide Lawson with some breathing room.
"It gave me a lot of confidence," Lawson said. "I just felt like I could go out there and give it my all and they would back me up, just go out there and do what I need to do."
Grigsby said his team prepared for the Nelsonville-York with some extra batting practice Monday evening. At the team's practice the Spartans hit through the order twice with 20 swings each.
Lawson had his offense behind him Tuesday, but allowed six walks on the day and had to escape multiple jams. He finished with 13 strikeouts and ended six of seven innings with a punch-out. During the fifth inning Lawson walked the first two batters he faced, but recorded three consecutive outs to squash the threat.
Grigsby said he and the Spartans' pitching coach tried to get back on track by talking Lawson through the troubles.
"I just told him just to not try and do too much," Grigsby said. "He just needed to stay within himself and get back to throwing the ball the way he's capable of throwing it."
Nelsonville-York coach Rocky Smathers, however, said the Buckeye batters just could not find the right pitches to hit and take advantage of the walks.
"We didn't make any contact," Smathers said. "We looked at quite a few good pitches that went by and swung at bad pitches."
The Buckeyes (6-13) managed to score a run in both the second and third innings, but left a total of 10 batters on base during the game. Second baseman Michael Barrick led the Buckeye offense and collected two of Nelsonville-York's four hits on the day.
Buckeye pitcher Thomas Taggert also shined during the game for Nelsonville-York. Taggert threw three scoreless innings of relief and faced just 10 batters.
"Taggert is going to be a nice pitcher for us (next year)," Smathers said. "I think he'll surprise people next year and be very dominant as a sophomore. He's a lefty that throws real well."
For Lawson and the Spartans the win came as a bit of revenge against the Buckeyes who swept Alexander in the regular season.
"It felt pretty good, I'm glad we got it in the tournament," Lawson said. "I'm glad that coach has confidence in me to come out and do that."
Alexander will now face Zane Trace (23-3), winners of the Scioto Valley Conference. The Pioneers finished the regular season ranked in the state's top 10, and are the top seed in the Spartans' part of the district bracket.
"It would be a great time to start a winning streak, not a better time, that's what we told the kids last night," Grigsby said. "We're just going to go down there, have fun, and try to bring a victory back to Athens County and the Tri-Valley Conference."
The Spartans are scheduled to play at 5 p.m. Friday at Zane Trace.
Alexander 400 100 0 - 5-6-3
Nels.-York 011 000 0 - 2-4-2
Alexander - Cody Lawson and Michael Chapman.
Nelsonville-York - Randy Walker, Thomas Taggert (5) and Nick Hunter.
WP - Lawson; LP - Walker.
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