Baseball

April 5, 2011

By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star       

Payne did a pretty good job keeping Lowery nice and comfortable in the dugout from that point on, though.

Payne, a senior, threw his first career no-hitter to lead the Cougars to a 9-0 win over James Wood in a non-district game Monday at R. Charles Hott Field.

Payne struck out six, walked one and hit two batters in an 86-pitch masterpiece in which he threw 60 strikes.

The first inning was the only one in which the Colonels (2-5) advanced a runner as far as second base. James Wood's other two baserunners were wiped out by double plays - including one to end the game that nixed a near hit - as Payne (3-0) faced just one batter over the minimum. "This is definitely the best high school gave I've ever pitched," said the right-handed Payne, whose grandfather Roland Kelshner, a 1961 James Wood graduate, was in attendance. "I give a lot of credit to my coaches, and also my teammates for backing me up out there."

Payne was up 1-0 before he even took the mound after the Cougars swiped home plate on a double steal. A five-run fourth inning after Jefferson (10-0) scored singles runs in the second and third put the game out of reach at 8-0.

The big lead helped Payne pitch comfortably in the game's final stages, but Payne said what kept him most at ease were some words from first baseman Tanner Everton (two RBIs).

"He told me before the game to keep the ball low, and I really thought hard about how I was pitching," said Payne, who consistently hit his spots with his sinking fastball, changeup and slider. "I kept the ball down pretty well."

Payne got off to an inauspicious start, hitting A.J. Eubank with his fifth pitch of the game. Tyler Dick sacrificed him to second, prompting Lowery's visit to the mound.

Lowery said that, with a first base open, he didn't want Payne to make a mistake with Matt Copley, whom he felt was James Wood's best hitter.

"[Payne's] got a good arm, but in his younger years he'd sometimes forget about things like that and get too much of the plate with his pitches," Lowery said. "Tonight he made tremendous strides in that regard and didn't give in. I thought he threw well tonight."

Payne induced consecutive groundouts to end the first. By the time he allowed another baserunner with a leadoff walk to fourth, he was up eight runs.

It was then that defense started to take over.

To end the fourth, Payne was able to cover first to finish off a 3-6-1 double play.

To end the fifth, Everton went deep into the hole for a one-hop soft liner from Russell Repasky. Everton threw to a hard-charging Payne to barely get the out.

To end the game, shortstop Trevoe Poe scooped up a grounder up the middle from Daniel Garber, flipped the ball back-handed to Cody Johnson (2 for 4 with a solo home run) for the force at second, and Johnson fired a low toss toward Everton that he scooped out of the dirt on one hop for a double play.

"He threw well, and we played defense well behind him," Lowery said. "I think any time you have a no-hit game, you're going to see both those elements come into play."

James Wood coach Jared Mounts said he felt his team had been hitting well this season, and he was pleased with how the Colonels did against a strong Martinsburg (W.Va.) pitcher Friday. But Mounts didn't think the Colonels adjusted to what Payne was doing Monday night.

"Even with two strikes, a lot of times we're still swinging for the fence," he said. "But give [Payne] credit."

James Wood starter Jordan Iden (3 innings, five runs, six hits, three walks, four strikeouts) fared decently through three innings. But after issuing two one-out walks he was lifted in favor of Garret Cunningham.

Cunningham allowed two inherited runners to score and three more after that, the last two coming on a two-run double from Jamie Richard (2 for 5).

The Colonels know they'll have to play better in the future to win games, but they also feel their difficult non-district schedule should help as they prepare for their Northwestern District opener Thursday against Sherando.

"We feel like we've played some good teams," Mounts said. "Hopefully working through some adversity right now will help us."

Copley felt similarly.

"I think [these West Virginia teams] are going to make us better for district play," he said. "As of right now, I grade our performance no better than a 'C.' We need to pick it up on the offensive side and just start getting runs. We're not going to make many errors in the field. We just need to start hitting the ball."

The Cougars were also led by Logan Johnson (3 for 4 with two runs and an RBI), and Corey Mangold (3 for 5 with two runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases - including the swipe of home).

- Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.