For the last three years, the Jefferson District championship has boiled down to Western Albemarle and Monticello. And while the Warriors looked poised to run away with a second straight title early on the road, the Mustangs did what they do best — simply battle — and made it awfully tough on their visitors. But with a great start offensively, a solid relief performance from Chris Hughes and then some insurance late, Western was able to hold off Monticello 8-6 to keep its crown.
“I thought we had a lot of people step up and do some clutch things,” said Western coach Skip Hudgins.
Western was in solid shape after a great start until the Mustangs came alive in the bottom of the fourth. Trailing by five, Monticello got an RBI single from Parker Heinemann and then a 3-run home run from John Page in the very next at bat to suddenly swing things in another direction.
“One pitch changed the ball game,” said Monticello coach Corey Hunt. “That’s a championship calibur game that both teams played in. They executed late though and won the ball game.”
Western got out of taking further damage with an inning ending double play. Monticello returned the favor in the top of the fifth by turning an inning ending double play with runners on the corners. The Warriors picked up a much welcomed insurance run in the top of the seventh with Dylan Weis hitting and RBI single to score Matt Mandell who led the inning off with a bunt single.
As for the solid start, after a scoreless first, Western tagged Monticello for four runs in the second. Sam James started the rally by delivering an RBI double. Weis plated a runner when he reached base on an error. Then Harrison Lund capped the rally with a 2-run single.
Monticello cut the Western lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the second. Jon Heuchert and Tre Dudley led off with back-to-back singles and were brought home on bunts from Kyle Jarrell and Ben Riley.
Western took a 5-run lead in the top of the third with Stevie Mangrum hitting a 2-out 2-run triple. In the following at bat Weis came through with a single to plate Mangrum and make it 7-2.
“We came out ready to play after a great practice on Monday,” Weis said. “We came out swinging the bats well but then one swing of the bat (by Page) and it was a new game so you couldn’t take anything for granted.”
After that, the story was about relievers. For Monticello Parker Heinemann threw four innings of relief and didn’t surrender a run until the top of the seventh.
“Parker had a tough outing last week and I wanted to give him another shot this week,” Hunt said. “He certainly stepped up for his teammates and gave us a chance to win a ball game.”
Hughes, who’s just starting to pitch after an arm injury from last year, came on in the bottom of the fifth to close out the game and earn the save for Western.
“We knew all along if we got him back before the year was over that it would make us instantly better,” Hudgins said. “He really come through tonight.”
On the day, Weis was 3 for 5 for Western with two RBI. Mangrum was 1 for 5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Sam Hearn was 2 for 3 with two runs scored.
For Monticello, Jon Heuchert was 3 for 4 and the only Mustang with more than one hit in the contest.
Western finishes its regular season with a home game Wednesday with Fort Defiance before opening Conference 29 play at home on Friday against an opponent to be determined. It’s the second straight JD title for Western and for a senior class that has not lost to Monticello since the JD tournament title game back in 2013.
“It means a lot — we get a free t-shirt and get to celebrate a bit,” Weis said. “Now we get to move on to the next part of our season.”
Monticello awaits its C29 opponent for Friday and will also host.
