Baseball: Judges 6 Colonels 2

May 21, 2011

By Mark Sawyer
Special to The Winchester Star       

WINCHESTER- After finishing the regular season winless in Northwestern District play, not many people were giving the Handley baseball team much of a chance to advance to today's semifinals.

But after a tough 12-inning loss to James Wood Monday and several other close losses throughout the season, the Judges not only knew they could compete with anybody, but they felt they could beat anybody.

No. 5-seeded Handley exploded for five runs in the first inning of Friday night's district play-in game, then rode the right arm of senior Nolan Potts to a 6-2 victory over No. 4 James Wood at R. Charles Hott Field.

It was the first win this season for Handley (3-17) that didn't come against Clarke County, and it advances the Judges into today's first semifinal against top-seeded Skyline at Hott Field. No. 2 Sherando plays No. 3 Millbrook in the second game. "We've been saying it all year long, we feel like we're capable of playing with any team in our district," Handley coach Eddie Simmons said. "The kids showed up and played hard today. They came out swinging the bats early, and I thought they did a phenomenal job of staying in the game for seven innings. You put it all together and it's a win, and it's a big win for our upperclassmen."

Handley scored all the runs they would need in the top of the first off James Wood ace Matt Copley.

Leadoff hitter Aubrey Wilkerson set the tone for the inning and the game by ripping Copley's first offering off the fence for a triple. Skylar Wotring drove in Wilkerson with an RBI groundout, and that was just the beginning.

Cody Unger and Jacob Rudolph followed with consecutive singles, and Nolan Potts reached on an error, scoring Unger. Ryan Hayes made it 3-0 with an RBI single that also put runners on first and third.

Hayes stole second, and one out later Reagan Potts looped a single to shallow left that scored older brother Nolan and Hayes for the 5-0 lead.

"If you get two off of Copley in any inning, you're feeling pretty good about yourself," Simmons said of the four-year varsity player, who will be a preferred walk on at Shepherd University next season. "I think he has been the best and most consistent pitcher over the last four years in our entire district. Hate to see him go out with a loss but at the same time I thought our kids did a great job, and I wish him the best at the next level."

With a five spot on the board, Nolan Potts took the mound and did his job. He worked all seven innings allowing two runs (one earned) and six hits. He struck out four and didn't walk anybody.

"Every pitcher wants five runs in the first," Potts said. "I knew I just had to throw strikes and have my defense make plays behind me, and we were going to be OK.

"We're excited, most excited we've been all year. It's a new season once the tournament starts. We came out with confidence, and that first inning was huge. The seniors didn't want the season to end tonight. We want to keep playing."

As good as Potts was, James Wood (6-13) still had its opportunities to get back in the game.

In the second inning, a one-out single by Scott Johnson resulted in a scoring chance when he moved to second on a balk and third and an errant pickoff attempt by Potts. Johnson then scored on a sacrifice fly by Russell Repasky to make it 5-1.

The Colonels put another runner in scoring position in the second, then another in the third, but they couldn't cash in.

Wood's last run came in the fourth, when Tyler Murphy led off with a single and later scored when A.J. Eubank reached on an error.

Eubank then stole second putting, two runners in scoring position for Garret Cunningham, but Potts got him to ground out to end the inning. Eubank would be the last Colonel to reach base, as Potts retired the final 10 hitters of the game.

Handley scored its last run in the fifth without a hit. Copley hit two of the first three batters, and with runners on second and third, the Colonels chose to intentionally walk Hayes to load the bases.

Copley then hit Reagan Potts to force in a run.

"They had a triple and four singles in the first inning, and that's the difference in the game," James Wood coach Jared Mounts said. "They came out and swung the sticks. and they hit the ball hard. They came out and punched us in the mouth, and we didn't recover. They executed. and we didn't.

"I thought we hit the ball hard, it was just right at people. Our guys never quit all year."

After the first inning, Copley only allowed one hit the rest of the way. Copley also led the Colonels at the plate with two of their six hits.