Northeastern wins 2023 Wayne County Baseball Tournament in dominant fashion
CENTERVILLE, Ind. — “Finally.”
That was the first thing Northeastern senior Carson Terrell said after the Knights won the Wayne County Tournament for the first time since 2014. They did it in dominating fashion, knocking out Centerville 7-1 and taking down Hagerstown 11-1.
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Here’s a recap of Saturday’s tournament, which featured three lopsided games and three masterful pitching performances:
Semifinal 1: Hagerstown DEF. Lincoln 10-0
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It was a pitchers’ duel between two sophomores for the first three innings. Hagerstown’s Kaagen Kendall hadn’t given up a single hit, and Lincoln’s Oliver Webb had only allowed a triple to Collin Beaty in the second inning.
The fourth inning is when the Tigers’ bats caught fire. Cole Tracy doubled to lead off the frame, and Wyatt Burris switched places with him to score the game’s first run. Burris, Ethan Campbell, Kayne Ervin, Aiden Grover, Ben Williams and Quaid Mull all drove in a run, and before you knew it, Tracy was back up at the plate.
“That’s how it’s been here in the last 10 games: What inning are we going to explode?” Hagerstown head coach Jay Hale said. “I think they feed off each other. Once one goes, they all go. It’s just getting a couple guys hot and letting them feel it.”
The next inning, Beaty drove in Campbell, Ervin scored on a passed ball and Grover brought home Beaty to extend the lead to 9-0.
Kendall came off the mound after the fifth inning, and Ervin came in to replace him. Kendall still hadn’t given up a hit to that point, so it was up to Ervin to complete the combined no-hitter. He had no problem with that, retiring all six batters he faced, and the Tigers’ offense added one more run in the seventh for good measure.
Hale said it didn’t feel like a no-hitter because the Golden Eagles consistently had runners on base due to six walks, but he still had a smile on his face as he congratulated Kendall and Ervin after the game.
“I actually didn’t even know it until maybe the fifth inning. I looked up at the scoreboard and saw the zero, and I said, ‘What’s that zero for?’” Hale said. “Our pitchers are good when they attack the zone and make them put the ball in play so our defense can work.”
A solid start to the day for the defending tournament champions.
Semifinal 2: Northeastern DEF. Centerville 7-1
Centerville’s Collin Clark drove in Colton Rinehart in the top of the first inning to get the scoring started, but Northeastern responded in the bottom half with three runs of its own. Justice Hollingsworth brought in Keaton Mikesell, Carson Terrell scored on an error and Trevor Burkhart drove in Blake Waters.
From there, the Knights continued to take advantage of the Bulldogs’ defensive miscues. Northeastern only had five hits in the game, just as many as Centerville, but the Bulldogs had seven fielding errors that kept putting runners on base. The Knights got their hits when it mattered most.
In the second inning, Kaiden White singled home Mikesell, who reached base on an error. In the fifth, White doubled and subsequently scored on a single by Terrell. Hollingsworth then reached base on another error, which also brought home Terrell. In the sixth, Landen Sum reached on an error, and Mikesell drove him in on another error. Northeastern scored seven runs, but only three of them were earned runs for Centerville’s pitchers.
The Knights had two errors themselves in the first inning, but they were locked in for the rest of the game, as was White on the mound. White held the Bulldogs scoreless for the last six innings, which propelled Northeastern to the win.
“Hitting is contagious, winning is contagious, but pitching has been the one true steady thing all year,” Northeastern head coach Dave Baker said.
This set up a rematch of the Knights’ 12-0 win over Hagerstown just three days prior.
Championship: Northeastern DEF. Hagerstown 11-1
Terrell tripled home Mikesell in the first inning for Northeastern’s first run, and Burris doubled home Williams for Hagerstown’s response. After that, it was the Knights’ bats that exploded. Northeastern scored five runs in the second inning with hits from Burkhart, Logan White, Sum, Mikesell and Terrell.
The Knights started this season 6-0 but then had a stretch where they went 1-6. Coming into the tournament, they were starting to get their groove back, winning six of their last seven games. Saturday was all about keeping that momentum rolling.
“It was just a matter of getting our confidence back,” Baker said. “After last Wednesday’s game, I said, ‘Do you guys believe in yourself now?’ They said, ‘Yes.’”
Baker told his players before the championship game to just go out and play. They were facing Hagerstown’s top pitcher, but it didn’t seem to matter, and the Knights were having the time of their lives.
“We had a long stretch where we were doing absolutely nothing, but we’re finally getting back together and having fun,” Terrell said. “That’s what we’ve been working on is having fun, and baseball comes with it.”
Kaiden White singled home two more runs in the fifth inning and another one in the seventh. Sum and Mikesell also each drove in a run in the final inning to make it 11-1.
Notice how the Tigers’ score hadn’t changed. That’s because Logan White wasn’t going to let his twin brother, Kaiden, outdo him. Logan had a near-identical pitching performance as Kaiden, allowing one run in the first inning before shutting it down the rest of the way. Talk about a luxury at the top of your pitching staff.
“They’re incredible,” Terrell said. “I’m super happy to be on their team and that I can help them and they can help me succeed. It’s an honor playing with them.”
Terrell ended the day tied for Northeastern’s single-season triples record, and Mikesell is now two stolen bases away from breaking the program’s career record.
Immediately after taking a few team pictures with the tournament’s traveling bat, the Knights hopped on the bus and headed back home to get ready for prom. Yeah, Saturday was a good day for the Knights.
Zach Piatt is a reporter for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at zpiatt@gannett.com or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Northeastern wins Wayne County Baseball Tournament in dominant fashion
