SPRING GARDEN – First-year Spring Garden baseball coach Cole Murphy usually has a calm demeanor about him, but his patience was tested following the Panthers’ embarrassing 20-3 Class 2A second-round playoff opening loss to second-ranked Mars Hill Bible on Friday.
Murphy took the Panthers behind closed doors in the home dugout in-between games. He could be heard yelling at times, but whatever he said behind closed doors must’ve provided the spark the Panthers needed.
Cam Welsh delivered a two-run first-inning home run to right center field, then Chaz Pope popped a three-run shot to left in the second.
That early five-run cushion provided starting pitcher Landon Gowens all the support he needed. He went 6 1/3 innings, surrendering three runs on six hits with four walks, a hit batsman, and six strikeouts on 122 pitches. Relievers Denver Jarrett and Andrew Bates helped preserve Spring Garden’s 9-5 victory.
The decisive third game is set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Bill Twilley Field in Spring Garden.
“I cannot comment on what was said in between games,” Murphy joked when asked what he said to the Panthers between games. “But I’m proud of how they came out in the second game. They knew they had to win to have a chance to win the series tomorrow. They did a great job coming out, hitting the ball and played a lot better defense. They played good baseball like we can. The first game not so much, but we came out in the second game and turned it around completely. We’ve got some momentum going into game three tomorrow.”
“It was definitely big for our momentum,” Welsh said of giving the Panthers an early lead with his two-run shot in the first inning of the second game. “They had been throwing me outside all day, but they just put one over the plate and I put the bat on the ball.”
Welsh was the tough-luck loser in the first game. The Panthers (17-15) made numerous errors, and Mars Hill (22-5) made them pay.
The two teams were tied at a run apiece through two innings before Mars Hill added a pair of runs in the top of the third, four more in the fourth, and exploded for 13 in the fifth to put the game away.
Pope provided the Panthers a bit of a spark heading into game two in the bottom of the fifth with his two-run shot to left.
“I was just trying to carry over from the last game,” Pope said. “I felt like I was finally barreling some balls up. On the (second) one, I was just trying to put it in play. I had two strikes and I didn’t want to leave runners on the bases. We needed every run we could get in the second one.”
Pope’s second home run didn’t appear as if it would happen in the top of the second inning in the second game. With runners on first and second with one out, nine-hole batter Andrew Floyd grounded to Mars Hill second baseman Hugh Hargett who attempted to put the tag on a sliding Gowens at second, then relayed the throw to first to retire Floyd.
Mars Hill players thought they had turned the inning-ending double play and had returned to the dugout before Murphy asked the umpires about Gowens’s slide at second. The umpires huddled and overturned the call at second, saying Gowens beat the tag.
The overturned call brought Pope to the plate, and he cashed in the opportunity by smacking a Cody Watson offering to left field to give Spring Garden a 5-0 lead.
“That’s why I love the playoffs because you have three officials,” Murphy said. “Two officials can’t really call a game and not miss stuff. You’ve just got to know if there’s a questionable call, you can always go to the other official and they will help each other out and they can come to a conclusion. Most of the time it’s the right call. That guy, from his angle, he thought he got tagged. The first base umpire was like no, he missed it. It helped out and allowed for that to get set up and happen.
“I’m glad Landon got down and dirty,” Pope said. “He had a good jump off the bat, so he made a tough play on the second baseman. I knew they were going to reverse the call when I was on deck. I was already in the box getting ready. I had it all looking pretty for me. I was just trying to come through for my team. I needed to get him (Gowens) some runs so he would feel comfortable on the mound.”
Gowens proved just he was just that.
“I’m glad they came out swinging like they did. It really helped out and took a lot of stress off of me,” he said.
Gowens didn’t allow a hit through 3 2/3 innings. Center fielder Chandler Wilbanks finally delivered Mars Hill’s first hit on a single to center. Designated hitter Koby Keenum followed with a run-scoring single to right for Mars Hill’s first run, making the score 5-1 through five innings.
Spring Garden batted around in the top of the sixth and scored four runs to take a 9-1 advantage. With the bases loaded and two outs, designated hitter Reece Winstead delivered an infield single off Mars Hill reliever Alex Thigpen that scored three runs. Winstead advanced to third on the throw to the plate. Welsh followed with an infield single himself to score Winstead from third.
Mars Hill attempted to rally with two runs in the bottom of the sixth off Gowens to make it a 9-3 game. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Gowens ran out of pitches and was replaced by Jarrett. Jarrett hit Josh Bowerman, then walked Cade Moore, bringing catcher Sam Williams to the plate. Williams delivered a single to left to score Bowerman, then Wilbanks walked to load the bases for Keenum.
Jarrett struck Keenum out looking for the second out of the inning. Murphy then went to Bates to close out the game, but he walked Hargett to bring home another run, bringing the tying run to the plate in pinch hitter Cam Isbell.
Bates retired Isbell on a ground out to end the game and knot the series at a game apiece.
Welsh was 3-for-4 with his two-run homer and a double to left in the third to lead the Panthers at the plate. Jarrett went 2-for-3 and Pope was 1-for-2 with his 3-run shot. He also walked.
Williams and Keenum had a pair of hits apiece for Mars Hill. Bowerman doubled. Moore and Hargett walked twice apiece.
Watson suffered the loss.
In the first game, Bowerman earned the win and was also 3-for-4 at the plate with a grand slam and a double as part of a 13-run fifth inning. He drove in seven runs.
Aiden Kennedy went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and a pair of walks. Jay Dobbs, Moore and Williams each added a pair of hits. Williams had a two-run homer in the fifth. Moore also walked twice.
Chaz Pope posted a pair of hits for the Panthers in game one, including his two-run shot in the fifth. Welsh tripled and scored a run. Chapel Pope, Gavin Bass and Floyd each contributed a hit.
“Anytime you split with them, you’re doing something right,” Murphy said. “It puts us in a position to come out and compete tomorrow, take a chance at winning the series and making it to the third round. For me, it being my first year as a head coach, it puts me in a position I’ve never been in ever. It’s big and it’s just exciting.”
