North Putnam wins low-scoring bouts

Sunday, April 17, 2016
The North Putnam baseball team celebrates with the Putnam County trophy and the Putnam County Pride Bucket after winning two close games Saturday for the Putnam County Championship. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

There were low-scoring dogfights on the baseball diamonds and it all happened under a beautiful sky Saturday at the 2016 Putnam County Tournament.

The North Putnam boys gritted out some hard-fought contests in what was a battle of the pitchers kind of day. The Cougars saw 20 strikeouts from Brayden White against Greencastle, which had a solid day pitching from Trey Scanland winning 2-1. South Putnam used a big third inning, scoring five runs, to help it to a 6-4 victory over Cloverdale.

In the championship match it came down to defense as the Cougars scored just two runs to beat the Eagles 2-0 for the Putnam County Pride Bucket.

Brayden White recorded 20 strikeouts against Greencastle in the opening round of the Putnam County Tournament. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

"It feels good," NPHS senior Kyler Jeter said. "We've been working on it for a couple years now. These guys deserve it. They've put in a lot of work and played hard."

The action started with South Putnam's win over Cloverdale. While the Eagles had some trouble getting things started, the Clovers scored once in the first and once in the second, taking advantage of some Eagle errors early. Noah Davis got all the way around via passed balls and Nick Winders stole second and got to third on a wild pitch before Joey Martin's single brought home.

South Putnam then rattled off five in the third, also taking advantage of errors. Taylor Bush stole second and third after walking to first, Dylan Wood stole second after getting hit, Josh Stewart got on with an error, Brandon Gierke walked and Grady McHugh hit a single. All of those Eagles scored to give SPHS its 5-2 lead.

South Putnam's Josh Stewart winds up to deliver a pitch during the game against North Putnam. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

"We've been playing tough games against Cloverdale," Eagle coach Brady Rhodes said. "Every game we've had has been a close game. The biggest thing is our guys are learning how to battle through adversity in close games. There's going to be things that happen in a two or three-run ball game that will go your way and will not go your way. Our guys are learning to put behind them things that they can't control and then come back out and contribute in big ways"

Cloverdale scored again in the fourth when Parker Watts singled and then stole second. He then got to third on a passed ball and scored on an error.

The Eagles used an effective bunt in the sixth to advance two runners including Kody Britton who scored the last run for South Putnam.

CHS put up another run from Winders but it was not enough to gain the win.

The game between North Putnam and Greencastle went eight innings but was a pitching stalemate for five. Trey Scanland for GHS pitched for 10 strikeouts and held North Putnam scoreless until the seventh inning when Kyler Jeter got on with a deep shot to left field. Max Haste then hit a grounder to get him home.

"It was the first time all year that we really put everything together," Greencastle assistant coach Ben Wells said. "We had great pitching. Trey Scanland pitched an amazing game. First time we've really had solid defense playing for us. The one area that kind of killed us and it's hampered us in the past was not being able to produce with runners in scoring position. That came back and bit us in this game also."

Wells said that there isn't much to change when looking for more scores with runners on.

"We try to be more aggressive on the bases today," Wells said. "We had some more steals. We tried to put ourselves in position so we had that opportunity. We did that and then bottom line is we need to be able to produce in those situations."

Brayden White pitched 20 strikeouts for the Cougars and held GHS scoreless until the sixth when Brandon Workman got on and stole second and third. Scanland brought him home.

"I just listened to my catcher (Cameron McPherson)," White said. "He was calling a lot of fastballs. I was able to locate. The velocity pitches were working and I guess it worked out today."

In extra innings North Putnam showed great discipline, picking off a baserunner and striking two out. Daniel Huffman singled to first, Duke Duff moved Huffman and Bobby Scheele hit a shot to left field that dropped and allowed Huffman the game-winning run.

"To me the mark of a good team is being in a close game sometimes and not giving up, getting over that hump to get the win," NPHS coach Brian Jeter said. "They did well. I don't want to take away from a positive thing but if we quit making mental mistakes, I don't think there is any limit to what we can do."

In the title game, it was another low-scoring affair. But NPHS pitcher Bobby Scheele kept his cool as the game went along and when it came down to the final inning up 2-0, Scheele struck out the final three batters to secure the win and the Championship.

"They really helped me out," Scheele said. "I felt like I was struggling. So with them being able to put the ball in play I trusted them to make the outs. That's a confidence booster. It's been a while but I'm glad to get the bucket back."

The two Cougar scores came from Kaine Benge in the second who singled and then was moved by Haste's sacrifice bunt, a balk and an error, and from Haste in the fourth, who walked, stole second, and then was moved to third with a single from Trae Strazicar. Haste then managed the score on a passed ball.

North Putnam has the benefit of eight seniors on its team which played a part in the Cougar win and the poise they showed digging out those tough games.

"All the seniors we are really close," Kyler Jeter said. "We have a lot of them. We've stayed together from youth league all the way through middle school and high school. It's just good camaraderie."

2016 Putnam County Baseball Tournament

Game One

Greencastle 000 001 00 -- 1 2 3

N. Putnam 000 000 1 1 -- 2 3 3

WP: White

Game Two

Cloverdale 110 100 0 -- 4 2 4

S. Putnam 005 001 - -- 5 2 2

WP: Gierke

Championship

N. Putnam 010 100 0 -- 2 4 1

S. Putnam 000 000 0 -- 0 3 2

WP: Scheele

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  • Best county tourney I've witnessed in a long time!! Great job done by all!!

    -- Posted by fillmorechick on Mon, Apr 18, 2016, at 10:19 AM
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