Davis Green
Good situational hitting and a command performance from junior pitcher Davis Green lifted the Coffee County baseball team to a 5 to 3 win over Shelbyville on Saturday in an elimination game at the District 8AAA tournament in Columbia.
Coffee County, who was held to just 3 hits on the game, showed patience at the plate in getting runners in scoring position in 5 of the 7 innings. “We have made an improvement in shortening up our swings and putting the ball in play” said coach David Martin. “That allowed us to cut down on our strikeouts and put pressure on their defense and it paid off for us(on Saturday)” added Martin.
The Raiders drew first blood in the 2nd inning when Gavin Husted got a 1 out walk and stole 2nd base. Jacob Langham drove an outside pitch to the right side of the infield that allowed Husted to advance to 3rd and, when the 2nd baseman misplayed the ball, score on the play. A walk and a stolen base in the 3rd put Zack Wise at 2nd base as Wyatt Day hit behind the runner to advance him to 3rd and Noah Anderson brought Wise home on a sacrifice fly.
In the 4th inning, a pair of singles and 3 Shelbyville errors added the final 3 runs to the scoreboard for Coffee County as again, the Raiders used a pair of sacrifices to put pressure on the Eagles defense.
Shelbyville was able to get base runners on board in every inning against Green, but the junior right-hander pitched out of every jam. “Davis is such a tough competitor. I did not intend for him to pitch (a complete game), but he would not have wanted to come out of there” said Martin. “He attacks the strike zone and stays ahead in the count, which allows him to be successful every time he takes the mound” added Martin. For his complete game win, Green was named the Ascend Federal Credit Union player of the game.
The Raiders will take on Columbia on Monday in a 6:30 PM elimination game at Columbia with a “next man up” mentality. The Red Raiders’ pitching staff has been stretched thin and several players are playing through injuries. “We have a lot of guys that are banged up right now but do not want to come out(of the lineup). I am proud of them to have that grit about them” said Martin. A win on Monday advances the Raiders to Tuesday’s semifinals.
You can download a copy of the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/
