After its two-day odyssey to Highlands that resulted in a 10-0 whitewash at Highlands, the Avery Vikings baseball team hopped back onto the bus last Tuesday May 19th for another four-plus hour bus trip, this time journeying to Murphy for a matchup with the Bulldogs.
The two teams stood toe-to-toe with one another in a closely fought game at Emerson Field in Konahete Park, but a late three-run Murphy rally in its final at-bat, as well as a half dozen Viking errors and only four hits proved too much for the Big Red to overcome in a 6-1 defeat.
Avery threatened to take the lead in the top of the first frame, as Brooks Oakley hit a one-out single and advanced to third on an Adam Pate base hit to put a pair of runners on base. The Big Red could not cash in, however, as a pair of groundouts to second base quelled the opportunity.
Murphy sought to draw first blood itself in its first at-bat of the contest, loading the bases on a base hit, an error, and a walk. However, right handed senior starter Brooks Oakley worked out of the jam, inducing a fielder’s choice to end the inning without a runner crossing the plate.
The Vikings looked poised to stake another claim on the lead when right fielder Daniel Huff led off with a base hit. Avery again came up empty when, following a pair of strikeouts, the runner was picked off by Murphy southpaw Josh Coker to close the inning.
In the bottom of the second, the Bulldogs struck for three runs off Oakley, two of which were literally off the pitcher. Murphy led off with a base hit, then the bottom hitter in the order bunted the runner to second. On the play, Avery third baseman Zac Hall slipped attempting to field the bunt, and was not able to throw the runner out at first.
Murphy’s chances of scoring dimmed when another Bulldog bunt was fielded by Avery catcher Steven Daniels who threw out the lead runner at third base. A slow roller toward the pitcher was mishandled, allowing the hitter to reach and load the bases, and a run scored when Bulldog right fielder Cook hit a grounder to shortstop. Avery’s Adam Pate fielded cleanly and threw home for a force out, but the throw pulled catcher Daniels off the plate for the game’s first run.
A frightening moment occurred one batter later when Oakley faced his opposite number Coker at the plate. Coker lined a 3-2 pitch off the leg of Oakley on the mound. The ball caromed away past the third baseman and rolled away which allowed a pair of additional runs to score.
The Avery hurler was on the ground for several minutes in obvious pain, but walked off the injury, ignored the pain, and remained on the mound for the Big Red. Oakley struck out the next two hitters to end the inning.
“That was the hardest hit ball I’ve ever seen hit off a player, as the ball didn’t land until it was halfway down the third base line. My first reaction was “Oh no, he’s broken his shin” because I thought that was where the ball had hit him. When a ball come off that hard and goes that distance, I thought he was hurt badly,” Avery head baseball coach Benny Wellborn said of the incident.
“Luckily the ball hit him in the meat of the inside part of his knee. It showed me a senior who wanted to play in his last ballgame and give it everything he’s got. It was an inspiration to me, it was an inspiration to our guys. The kid showed great heart and drive to stay in there and get the job done. I don’t know many kids who would have stayed in there and done that for any team. He was hit hard, managed to get back up, and I thought he threw harder and better after he was hit. That’s something I will never forget. He deserves a lot of credit for hanging in there.”
As the top of the third inning ensued, Avery managed to get back one of the three runs surrendered during the previous frame. Oakley laced a two-out double to left field. Shortstop Adam Pate came up to the plate next and hit a grounder to second base. The second baseman misplayed the baseball and it rolled into short right field. Pinch runner Ethan Sluder raced around third and scored under the Murphy catcher’s tag to cut the lead to 3-1.
Both teams were retired in order over the next two half-innings, and Murphy tried to pad its lead in the bottom of the fourth. Two Bulldogs reached base via single and walk, but Oakley worked around the trouble as he struck out a batter and got a fielder’s choice to close the inning.
Avery’s bats, which had been white hot leading up to the contest, suddenly cooled as Coker made life difficult for the Big Red. The Vikings were retired in order for the second time in a row in the top of the fifth, while the home team mounted another charge at the scoreboard and the Avery defense.
A single, a hit batsman, and a walk to the first three Murphy hitters in the inning loaded the bases. Oakley struck out the fourth hitter of the frame, then was the beneficiary of an induced ground ball back to himself. Oakley promptly fired home to catcher Daniels, who then gunned a ball to first baseman Jared Clark for the 1-2-3 double play which ended the inning and energized the ballclub.
Daniels momentarily broke the Murphy dominance on the mound in the top of the sixth with a two-out single, bringing the tying run to the plate. But Murphy’s Coker forced a groundout to again deny the Vikings.
As the sun began to set, Murphy added three insurance runs in the bottom of the inning, all with two outs, to dampen the spirits of the Avery faithful who made the drive to Cherokee County. The big blow was a two-run home run by Bulldog second baseman and cleanup hitter Luke Charles to stake Murphy to a 5-1 advantage.
Murphy continued to hit the ball hard off the Avery starter, who may have begun feeling the effects from the earlier hit to the leg. Right fielder Butterworth hit a deep ball to the outfield which was misplayed for an error by Avery, leading to the batter taking second base. The following hitter ripped a sharp RBI single to left field, which made the score 6-1 and signaled the end of the day on the mound for the Viking senior after 104 pitches and 5 2/3 innings.
Avery had one final chance in the top of the seventh and put two runners on base with only one out, but a 1-4-3 double play turned by the Bulldogs defense ended the game.
“It seemed like they caught quite a few breaks. We hit the ball right at people, and their pitcher did a really good job of hiding the ball. The kids had a hard time picking up the ball, so to only strike out five times was good,” Coach Wellborn said. “We caught some unfortunate breaks, like when Brooks was takes one off the knee and two runs score. That along with other little things was turning points in the game. If a couple of things go our way and we capitalize on a couple of chances, things might have ended differently. Their pitcher made adjustments when we hit his fastball, and his off-speed pitches were good. We had a hard time adjusting to his change-up, which was probably his best pitch.”
Brooks Oakley was the only Avery player with multiple base hits, as he was 2 for 3 with a single and a double. Adam Pate and Steven Daniels also rapped base hits in the contest.
Avery completed the season with a mark of 12-10 overall, with a winning record in conference play. The team loses seven seniors, but Avery will look to regroup with a number of young and talented players from this year’s junior varsity squad.
Congratulations to the Vikings for another strong season on the diamond!
The first preseason FCS football poll has been released by the AnyGivenSaturday.com website, and the Mountaineers are ranked 2nd overall. AGS has posted the first preseason poll of teams each year since its inception in 2004.
