Allen County-Scottsville clawed back from an early deficit and earned what head coach Scott Stamper called a ‘great team win’ on Thursday evening over Warren East.
The Patriots (11-7 overall, 6-7 Region 4) – who allowed the Raiders to get four runners on base and quickly trailed 1-0 just half an inning into the game – regrouped quite well by scoring three of the contest’s final four runs to claim a victory over a tough opponent.
“Warren East is a quality program,” Stamper said. “Wes (Sanford) does such a great job over there. You know year-in and year-out anytime we play them we know what we’re in for. It was a great team win on a beautiful day and a great job to all our guys.”
ACS out-hit Warren East (12-14, 10-9) 5-4 on the day and was led by Sheldon Peay, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Alongside Peay, three other Patriots finished with one hit each.
Owen Stamper started on the mound for ACS and tossed four strikeouts with four hits and two runs while going the distance. Stamper threw 101 pitches – with 57 of those throws landing as strikes.
“(I needed) to fill up the strike zone a lot,” Stamper said. “I didn’t get off to a good start on guys and didn’t throw strikes early. I had to fight back into counts, but towards the end I started getting into my groove and filling it up.”
After Warren East jumped out to a lead in the opening inning, the Patriots responded by plating a pair of runs in the bottom half of the frame to build a 2-1 advantage. The Raiders tied it at 2-all in the third, but Peay’s fifth-inning single put ACS in front for good.
Colson Elkins went 2-for-4 to lead East at the plate, while Dakota Basham threw five strikeouts with five hits and three runs in a full six-inning outing.
Warren East got going quickly, placing four runners on base and taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
Elkins led off with a double and Morgan Phelps reached on an error to advance his predecessor to third. Taking advantage of a passed ball, Elkins soon stole home to put the Raiders up early.
Allen County-Scottsville fired right back in the bottom half of the frame.
“They did a good job of bouncing right back and coming out and attacking us with two runs right there in the first,” Warren East coach Wes Sanford said. “Basham did a great job tonight; that was his second start. He came out continued to grind and got all of those eggs up on the board. He fought his way out of a lot of jams.”
With the use of three hits – including a leadoff triple by Brooks – the Patriots scored a pair of runs behind a single from Stamper and an RBI ground out from Hunter Foster to jump in front at 2-1 after an inning.
“We’ve been down a lot all year,” Stamper said. “There’s not a whole lot of panic in that dugout. You just never see any panic. These guys stay with it, they stay with our process – and these guys are starting to buy into what we’re trying to do.”
Basham’s single in the third helped Warren East tie it at 2-all. As Phelps reached on another error and Ty Stringfield on a fielder’s choice, Basham came through with a hit into left field to plate Stringfield and even the scoreboard.
Allen County-Scottsville jumped back in front in the fifth, scoring on Sheldon Peay’s two-out single. Brooks was walked and had remained on second for quite a while, but Peay delivered with a strike into center to finally send the runner home and make it 3-2.
“Sheldon’s seeing the ball well,” said Stamper. “I had a good talk with him before his last at-bat and told him not to chase their pitch but get his pitch. He does a great job seeing the ball and reacting to it. He’s had a big year for us at the plate, and hopefully that continues for him.”
The Raiders had Ryan Hawks reach on a walk in the sixth and Elkins singled in the seventh, but they were never able to capitalize and dropped a tough decision.
“Offensively, we had a lot of opportunities. That’s been the whole thing for the last two weeks now,” Sanford said. “We’re just still not executing. The energy’s not there and the focus is not there. We haven’t really kicked it into gear yet.”
Allen County-Scottsville and Warren East will meet again on Monday at Warren East High School in a make-up game. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
–Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @TMansfieldST.–
