Carson Francis, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
REEDSVILLE — Eastern Meigs was eager to get back on the diamond on Tuesday night.
Back on Saturday, the Eagles fell victim to league opponent Trimble in a 5-4 final — a loss that saw them surrender a late 3-1 lead.
However, the Eagles came into Tuesday’s TVC-Hocking showdown against Southern with a short memory and made a resounding statement.
CREDIT: Tanner Wright/SOSA
With two outs in the bottom half of the fourth and the game tied at 1-1, Eastern (7-2, 5-1 TVC) ran off six straight runs to bust the contest wide open.
And to add the cherry on top, senior pitcher Brady Rockhold tossed six hit-free innings on the bump, helping his team rebound with an 11-1 victory over the Tornadoes to stay atop the league ranks.
“[Rockhold] is a guy that if you’re playing against him, you hate him. We know when we see him out there with that look in his eye that says, ‘You can’t beat me,’ he’s going to have a good day. We saw that from the first inning,” Eastern Meigs coach Chris Stewart said. “We DH’d for him tonight, and I talked to him before the game because making a lineup out of these kids is tough. We’ve got 12 guys that can hit the ball really well. I said that he was pitching tonight and we would give him just one job, and I don’t think he’s complaining after that performance.”
The Tornadoes, however, didn’t make things easy on Rockhold and the Eagles to start.
Southern’s Landon Smith struck out to start the evening, but he managed to reach base after a dropped third strike. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch and reached third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a groundout via Gryphon Thomas for an early 1-0 lead.
And after the Eagles came up empty-handed with their bats in the first frame, Southern felt as if it had some momentum in enemy territory.
That feeling didn’t last long.
Rockhold sat down the Tornadoes in order in the second, striking out two. In return, his offense helped him out and put a run on the board.
After three straight singles to load the bases, Blaise Gilmore was hit by a pitch to send the lead runner home, knotting things up at 1-1.
The contest came to a momentary stalemate from there, as Rockhold continued to hold Southern in check, adding another three strikeouts in the third and fourth innings to keep the score the same.
The Eagles were searching for that big swing of the bat to put the team in front. And when the time came, Alex Collins didn’t let the opportunity pass him by.
With two outs in the fourth inning, the Eagles had walked the bases loaded. On a 1-1 count, Collins lifted one high into left-center field and the ball bounced off of the defender’s glove at the warning track, allowing all three runs to score and for Collins to stand safely at second, giving the Eagles a 4-1 lead.
“I had the barrel on each of my at-bats before that, so I knew I could barrel up and take it very far. I hit that ball and it felt really good,” Collins said. “He was playing the fence, so I thought I was out for a second. But when I saw that thing drop, I had never been so happy.”
The two-out rally didn’t stop there, either.
PHOTOS: Images from Eastern Meigs’ win over Southern
Rohwan Gilmore drove in another run with an RBI single. Then, Ayden Wilhelm fired a two-run single into right field to finish off a six-spot for the Eagles, making it a 7-1 advantage going into the fifth.
Southern took a punch in the mouth and had no response from there.
The Tornadoes did manage to put two runners on board in the top of the fifth, as Jake Wickline drew a walk and David Kempell reached on error. But Rockhold still remained unfazed and struck out the next two batters to retire the side.
After the right-handed senior sat down Southern in order once more, he stood just three outs away from a no-hitter.
However, his teammates decided he wouldn’t have to sweat it out, and used their bats to send everyone home early.
Eastern quickly loaded the bases to start its half of the sixth and wasted no time capitalizing. Lane Atha lined the first pitch he saw up the middle for a single, driving in two runs. Two batters later, Lance Hensler roped one down the right field line for another base hit and added one more to Eastern’s tally.
Finally, Ethan Edwards stood at the plate with two runners on and two outs. Needing a base hit to put the game away, Edwards answered the call and singled into left, bringing home the game’s final run to cap off the victory and seal Rockhold’s no-hit performance.
“We knew who we were going to see. We see [Southern pitcher Brandon Laudermilt] every time they come here. He’s their ace and he’s been their ace since our sophomore year, so we knew what we were going to see,” Rockhold said. “I know the guys I have behind me. I’m going to throw strikes and I know they’re going to make plays, so there’s never a worry in my mind. If I let them put the ball in play, we’re going to get outs.”
“Looking at the Trimble game and this game, that’s just baseball. I told our guys that sometimes, baseball is just really cruel and it goes against you. But sometimes, it goes for you and it feels great,” Stewart added. “You’ve just got to keep playing the way you know how to play, and good things will happen. That’s what they did today. We weren’t fazed. We chatted about [the Trimble game] a little bit yesterday and followed up on it, but we came out today and did exactly what I expected us to do.”
Rockhold struck out 10 batters while only walking two, surrendering an unearned run.
The Eagles combined for 17 hits as a team, with each batter in the lineup recording at least one. Collins finished the day 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs while Atha also posted a 3-for-4 showing with two RBIs.
Gilmore went 3-for-4 as well, bringing a run home in the process and Wilhelm drove in another two runs while finishing 2-for-4.
Southern (5-2, 4-2 TVC) bounced back with a win over Trimble on Thursday and will now face Green on Friday.
Meanwhile, Eastern Meigs earned a 12-2 victory on Wednesday over Ravenswood (W. Va.) and a 10-0 win over Waterford on Thursday.
The Eagles are back in action on Friday at Paint Valley.
SPONSORED BY VINTON COUNTY NATIONAL BANK
