Spartans top elements, Alexander

During the first week of high school baseball practices back in February, South Caldwell coach Jeff Parham sent a message to his team. On a day where dropping temperatures and pouring snow made playing baseball all but impossible, Parham refused to cut practice short. The Spartans stayed out on the field an extra 30 minutes that day, shrugging off the cold in favor of fielding grounders and swinging bats.

“A lot of the guys thought I was crazy,” Parham says.

Friday in Sawmills, South Caldwell learned the method behind its skipper's madness. A continuous, chilly drizzle didn't faze the Spartans at all in a 3-1 home win over Alexander Central. The win closed out the first cycle of Northwestern conference play, with the Spartans posting a 5-1 record (13-1 overall).

“I told them before the game, ‘This is why I do those things sometimes, to prepare you for tough situations,'” Parham said. “And we handled it well today.”

In the end, South Caldwell starter Cody Penny's stellar effort was enough to overcome some Spartan offensive struggles. Penny struck out 14 in his complete-game effort on a day where the Spartans went 1-of-14 with runners in scoring position.

“I felt confident out there, and I had a great defense behind me,” Penny said. “Pitching almost doesn't even count when you've got defense like that.”

Even on a night where Penny was in control throughout, one bad pitch left the Spartans trailing momentarily. Alexander Central's Dylan Tedder turned on a high changeup for a solo home run to start the fifth inning. The Spartans responded immediately, though, when South Caldwell second baseman Lucas Jackson deposited the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth over the left-field fence for a solo shot of his own.

“I knew I had to get the job done. I took myself accountable, and decided I needed to do something,” Jackson said.

Later in the fifth, South's Jimmy Messer ended the Spartan drought with runners in scoring position. Messer's two-RBI single up the middle plated Zac Greer and Cody Prestwood, and ended a streak of 10 consecutive failed Spartan at--bats with runners on second and/or third.

“Once (Alexander Central) scored that run, we knew we had to buckle down,” Messer said. “I was seeing the pitches good all night, and I just realized that I needed to sit back on it and drive it the other way. And it worked out for me.”

Penny handled the rest, recording five of the final six outs via strikeout. He allowed only four hits in the game, and escaped a bases loaded jam unscathed in the seventh by inducing a groundout to end the game.

“Cody was just excellent,” Parham said. “He only threw one bad pitch, really. I wish we'd have had a little bit more timely hitting (on offense), but we got it when we needed it.”

The Spartans take the field again Tuesday at Watauga, where they will try to avenge their only loss of the season. Watauga beat South 1-0 March 17.

Printer Friendly Version

E-mail this story to friend