William Monroe came into its Conference 28 quarterfinal with Skyline looking to give itself the best hand possible to play a looming Loudoun Valley squad awaiting the winner. Suffice it to say, thanks to the gem that Cody Spencer spun on Monday, a no-hitter where he allowed just one baserunner and faced just 21 batters, the Dragons couldn’t be in better shape. With a 6-0 win over Skyline, Monroe advanced through the quarterfinals and has a bevy of arms rested and ready for Loudoun in the next round.
“That’s two games in a row that he’s been lights out for us,” said Monroe coach Mike Maynard of Spencer. “He threw a 1-hitter to get us past Strasburg last week and then tonight he faced the minimum batters he could. He’s pitching so well right now and I just hope we can get back to him one more time.”
Spencer was on fire early as he struck out eight of the first nine batters he faced. In the fourth Skyline put its only base runner on after an error, but a double-play followed by a strike out allowed the junior to retire the side in order. Spencer motored through the last three innings and collected 11 strikeouts on the night and finished with 93 pitches.
“My curveball was really moving tonight and that helped,” Spencer said. “I was moving around the strike zone and just trying to throw strikes. Most of the time when I’m ahead in the count I say ‘Well, might as well finish.’”
The complete game no-hitter leaves Monroe with Jacob Tomlin and Jeff Early all on full rest heading into the semifinals.
Monroe went up 1-0 in the second inning when Tobey Collier led off with a single. After a hit batter and an error, he scored on a Keegan Woolford sacrifice fly to center field.
In the third the Dragons took full control with a 2-out rally that began with Collier singling up the middle. Then Caleb Adams singled. After a walk, Anthony Pritchett brought home Collier. Woolford followed with a 2-run single. Then Jeff Early hit and RBI single to make it 5-0.
“We had some clutch hitting but we also left some runners on base,” Maynard said. “We left five in those first two innings so I was a little worried but we came through.”
Monroe tacked on one last piece of insurance in the sixth with Spencer and Charlie Richards getting back-to-back singles. Collier collected his third hit of the game, an RBI single to inflate the lead to 6-0 which was more than enough for Spencer to work with as he closed out the game.
“Everybody is just playing together and working hard,” Spencer said. “You don’t know if you’re going to win or not when you’re in the playoffs. You just have to come out, play hard and see what happens.”
On the day, Collier was 3 for 4 with two runs scored. Woolford was 1 for 2 with three RBI. Early was 2 for 3 with an RBI.
Monroe (16-7-1), which has now won of eight straight games, travels to face Loudoun, the defending Group 3A state champion on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
“We’re the fourth seed so unfortunately you’re going to have to go through the one seed at their place,” Maynard said. “But the Bull Run District tournament was great for us, it really brought us together and Keegan, Jeff and Dustin Knight have been great leaders for us.”
