By DOUG EADS, CJ Correspondent
Somerset — There were more than just bragging rights on the line last night at Charlie Taylor Field when Pulaski County and Somerset squared off in the first of two scheduled meetings this season between these two 47th District rivals.
Both teams came into last night’s showdown with perfect, 2-0 records in district play, and they were each looking to get a leg up in the race for a possible number one seed for next month’s 47th District Baseball Tournament.
Thanks to a complete game pitching performance from the Briar Jumpers Steven Alexander, and a huge night at the plate from JP Henderlight and Colby Hall, it was Somerset taking a strangle hold on the district, albeit a temporary one, with an impressive, 10-1 victory over PC.
Henderlight drove in five runs in the win for Somerset, going 3 for 4 at the plate with a single, double, and a two-run home run.
Hall meanwhile banged out three singles for the Jumpers, giving Somerset’s number six and seven hitters in the lineup a pretty good night at the ole’ ball yard.
“I’m really proud of both of them, and we fired JP up a little bit over the last couple of games, and challenged him a little bit and he really stepped up,” stated Grundy, after watching his team move to 14-5 on the year with the win.
“JP’s a superstar — he really is,” Grundy added. “He doesn’t believe it, but he really is. I just think JP can be a dominant pitcher and a dominant hitter, and I think he can be a terror on the bases. He’s a great athlete.”
While Henderlight and Hall were having big night’s at the dish for Somerset, it was Pulaski County’s Cain Troxell that was responsible for the first run of the evening in this affair.
In the top of the first inning, Troxell gave his club a 1-0 lead with an RBI double, after Kent Jones had reached safely due to a throwing error by the Jumpers Erik Manning.
However, that lead was very short-lived for the Maroons.
Henderlight took PC’s starter Nick Vaught over the right center field fence in the home half of the second frame for a two-run shot, giving Somerset the lead for good at 2-1.
In the bottom of the third, a throwing error by the Maroons Kent Jones on a ball hit by Taylor Sears to lead off the inning opened the door for Somerset, as the Jumpers padded their lead to 5-1, thanks to RBI hits from David Vanhook, Hall, and Henderlight.
After three innings, Somerset was up 5-1 and PC was in big-time trouble.
“Typically, we haven’t been kicking the ball around like that,” stated Mayfield, in referring to the costly error to begin the home half of the third inning.
“That error led to the big inning for them, but I was proud of Nick (Vaught) because he battled all night,” continued the Maroon coach. “He didn’t have good command and he made some terrible 0-2 pitches tonight, and he knows better than that. Against a team like Somerset, that runs hitter after hitter up there, you just can’t throw 0-2 pitches like we did tonight.”
Already with a 5-1 cushion to work with, Alexander got in a big-time groove and kept PC’s bats held in check for the rest of the night.
The senior right hander limited the Maroons to six hits in his seven innings of work on the mound, to go along with 10 strikeouts and only two walks.
Meanwhile, Somerset kept the pressure on PC with a 13-hit performance.
Henderlight stayed red-hot with a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth inning, while Vanhook, who drove in three runs in the win for Somerset, added a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth frame to help blow this one wide open.
The win put Somerset atop the district standings with a 3-0 mark, and as impressive as the Jumpers were at the plate in the win over Pulaski County last night, Grundy says his team is capable of doing even more at the plate.
“We’ve got a chance to do great things if we hit the ball one through nine in the lineup,” pointed out the SHS skipper.
“Right now, they’re hitting it, but they’re still not hitting it the way they’re capable of hitting it,” Grundy added. “That’s the scary thing, because when we do get it going, I think it’s going to be a fun, fun team to watch offensively.”
For PC meanwhile, the loss dropped the Maroons one game behind Somerset in the race for the district’s number one seed at 2-1, but with a home game still left with the Briar Jumpers, Mayfield says his club is still in the race for that coveted top spot within the 47th District.
“We’re 2-1 in the district now, and we’ve got a big game later this week with Casey County at their field, and they’ve been playing well,” said Mayfield.
“They gave Somerset a great game the other night, and we’re just going to have to regroup and get over there and get after them, and try to be 3-1 going into next week,” Mayfield remarked.
Somerset meanwhile will return to action tonight at Charlie Taylor Field, as the Briar Jumpers will entertain Jackson County.
PC 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 1 6 3
SHS 0 2 3 0 2 3 X — 10 13 1
DOUBLES—(PC) Troxell. (SHS) Vanhook, Henderlight.
HOME RUNS—(SHS) Henderlight.
RBI’S—(PC) Troxell. (SHS) Henderlight 5, Vanhook 3, Hall.
WP—Alexander
LP—Vaught
