Sports

Split up

• Salem and Lee County split the first two games of their best-of-three series Tuesday during the GHSA Class AAAA state baseball quarterfinals in Leesburg, setting up a decisive Game 3 today.

Derek Barichello

LEESBURG— It was night and day.

Underneath the hot sun and behind the unexpected intensity of a Salem crowd equipped with thundersticks on Tuesday at Trojan Field, Rob Williams’ Lee County Trojans struggled defensively — committing five errors — and lost, 12-3, in the opening game of the quarterfinals in the GHSA AAAA state playoffs.

But once the sun set and the breeze cooled, everything changed. The Trojans jumped out to an early 4-0 lead and baseballs that avoided their gloves in Game 1 seemingly found them on almost every play in Game 2 as Lee County went on to win, 10-2.

And when it was all said and done, the doubleheader ended in a split, keeping the Trojans’ hopes of reaching a second consecutive Final Four alive.

"Everything changes when you have to win," said senior Trojans catcher Zach Hood, who went 3-for-4 with four runs batted in, including driving home the first two runs. "It comes down to one game on the line, and we had to have that game, or we're going home. We didn't want to play our last game (Tuesday night)."

With Game 3 scheduled for 5 p.m. today at Trojans Field, that same mentality will be in effect as the winner advances and the loser goes home.

"We've been in this position before," Williams said. "Getting ahead was the key (Tuesday). We lost the coin toss, so we're visitors, hopefully we can get on top early and play like we did in Game 2."

Williams is still unsure of who will start Game 3 but he said it will be another case of throwing "Johnny Wholestaff" at the Seminoles.

Game 1 starter Gray Carden threw five innings, allowed six runs (three earned) and seven hits with three strikeouts, so Williams said the most Carden can throw is an inning, if that. The same applies for Game 2 starter Howell White, who threw six innings and struck out eight, while allowing just two earned runs in the win.

Suggs, however, pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief and Tyler Knight recorded the last out in Game 1 and pitched the scoreless final inning of the nightcap making both available to throw for Williams. He also did not use sophomore pitcher Justin McCalvin, who has pitched in both of the Trojans' playoff series, and is available.

"I'll have to talk to my pitching coach," Williams said. "I'd say, we have two or three guys we can use."

The Trojans did not have to exhaust their pitching staff thanks to White's performance in Game 2 and thanks to an offense that took command from the beginning.

Lee County scored three runs — two on Hood's single and one on Sheffield's eight-pitch walk with the bases loaded — to grab an early 3-0 lead.

"We picked up the intensity," Hood said of Game 2. "I think it was good that we were visitors because we put some runs up on the board. That way they had to catch up."

The Trojans never looked back as they added one in the third, one in the fourth, two in the sixth and three in the seventh to record the eight-run win.

In Game 1, however, Lee County never really got its feet on the ground.

From the get go, errors cost them a chance to win. Before the Trojans stepped in the box to even take an at-bat, they committed two costly errors that resulted in a 3-0 deficit.

"I think we might have been a little too positive," senior second baseman Jeremy Sheffield said of the overwhelming hometown support early on that left Lee somewhat overconfident. "I was actually surprised with their crowd too. They stayed in the game the whole way and they were pretty loud, but ours did a good job of supporting us in Game 2."

The Seminoles added an unearned run in the second, one in the fourth and fifth, finally putting it away in the seventh with six runs.

The Trojans are hoping to ride the momentum from Game 2 into today's deciding game.

"We've got to have our minds right," Sheffield said. "I'll make sure of that."

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