With the defense playing error-free baseball, Logan Forloines and Lamar Nelson mowed through the batters. And were it not for one big swing from Madison County’s Travis Warren, William Monroe would have come up with its second combined shutout in as many days. But since they came up just short from rallying from down seven runs in the previous meeting against the Mountaineers, a solid 7-1 win was more than enough to send Mike Maynard’s team into a big Jefferson District contest feeling confident.
“We lost to them 10 days ago and I think that’s stayed with us, so we came in ready to play,” Maynard said. “Logan got us going and Lamar throws strikes all day long and we played good defense. We turned three double plays and we didn’t make an error, and we played against their best pitcher (Colin Tucker). We know him from American Legion baseball, he’s always around the strike zone, he nibbles away at you, so we tried to be really aggressive early in the strike count and I think that paid off for us.”
After Forloines put up four innings of no-hit pitching, Lamar Nelson came in a surrendered just one as the two pitchers thrived behind a strong day from shortstop Jordan Gentry and second baseman Austin Batten.
“Austin’s a freshman but he’s way beyond his years in baseball,” Maynard said. “He’s got a solid baseball IQ and seems to get better for us everyday. He and Jordan have been playing together it seems like forever. He’s also been hitting well for us in the 5-spot.
It wasn’t until the top of the sixth inning that Madison was able to get its only hit, a solo home run hammered by Warren to left field. But that was the only pitch the Dragons paid for, and with a balanced day on offense where no one hitter stood out, Monroe was able to nickel and dime Madison for its runs, taking a 4-lead into the middle of the third, and then padding its lead behind a 2-run single Zach Duprey in the sixth.
“It’s kind of nice hitting in the seven hole,” Duprey said. “I’m seeing a lot of fastballs and not much junk. You just have to find something good and rip it.”
After Warren made it a 5-run game going into the seventh, Monroe reclaimed it’s 6-run lead when Jack Morris reached base on an error, stole third and then took home on a wild pitch.
For Madison (3-2), it was the second straight home game where the bats have been quiet, but coach Tom Butterworth knows his team is capable of hitting — the Mountaineers scored 30 runs in their first three games of the season, all of them wins — and looks to try and avenge the teams loss on Tuesday to Page on the road on Monday at 6:30 p.m.
“I think we’re seeing the ball well, we just don’t have the timing,” Butterworth said. “In those first games, we were getting the big hits, a grand-slam, a 3-run triple couple with some others. We haven’t gotten them in these last two, but that’s a timing thing and the more swings we take, the better we’ll be. We’re going to be alright.”
Monroe (4-1) will play Goochland at Orange County at 5 p.m.
