Wallace, Panthers too much for Rams
HARRISON — Despite a hardfought battle, Lakeside could not put a second runner across the plate as the Rams fell, 2-1, to Greenbrier Thursday afternoon at Jack Williams Field in Harrison.
The Rams (22-7) entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed from the 5A-South, but they gave the 5A-West’s top-ranked Panthers (24-5) a battle from start to finish.
“Defensively, we played well,” said Lakeside head coach Leighton Hardin. “We pitched and played defense well enough to win the game. We just didn’t execute offensively. We didn’t do a lot of things we normally do, but that’s what happens.”
The Rams got on the scoreboard first, thanks in part to a fielding error. With two outs, Ethan Bates knocked the ball to right field, where it was bobbled, allowing him to stretch his single to a triple.
A single by Zac Melugin sent the sophomore pitcher home for the only run for the Rams.
The Panthers responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. Bates hit Steven Stewart, who advanced to second after Cayden Wallace was intentionally walked. An RBI single by Andrew Johnson knotted the score until the bottom of the third inning.
“He’s one of the best players in the nation,” Hardin said of the decision to intentionally walk Wallace all three of his appearances. “We weren’t going to let him beat us. They’re going to have to have somebody else beat us. We’re not going to let their best player beat us.”
Wallace, a top 50 national baseball prospect, led off the inning, taking the intentional walk before stealing second. A single by Johnson put the sophomore in scoring position before Guy Echols hit an RBI single to make it 2-1.
“As a matter of fact, I’ve said this, if I was coaching against him, I’d do the same thing,” Greenbrier head coach Tye Glover said of Wallace. “It puts pressure on other guys. With that though, it actually worked out for us in one inning — he’s the leadoff, steals second and that ends up being the run that scores. It’s funny how the game works. I was not surprised because he has not had an at-bat in four games.”
The Rams had a chance to knot the score in the top of the sixth with Bates and Melugin on first and third, respectively. A single by Ryan Robinson was fielded by pitcher Garrett McCollum, who threw to third for a double-play in the corner as Bates was tagged out on his way home and Melugin ousted at the bag.
Bates collected the loss for the Rams, giving up two runs off five hits, four walks, three intentional walks and a hit batsman. He struck out eight batters in six full innings on the hill.
“Ethan pitched well,” Hardin said. “He always does. He gave us what we expected from him. He did a good job. We had one guy we weren’t going to let beat us, and he ended up scoring. It gave them their two runs.”
McCollum earned the win with seven innings on the mound. He allowed one unearned run off five hits, two walks and two hit batsmen while striking out five.