After a disheartening 8-2 loss to Decatur High School on April 25, the Auburn Mountainview Lions had a chance to rebound in game two on April 28.
The Lions couldn’t quite hold off the Gators and the comeback late in the game ran out of legs as the Gators swept Auburn Mountainview after a 4-3 win.
The Lions were up 2-0 and scraped a run across in the seventh. And with a 5-7 record in league play, they are right in the thick of the standings with four games remaining. Despite the lack of results in the win column, there are signs of life from skipper Chuck Schroeder’s side.
“From where we started at the beginning of the year is night and day different. We are fighting and in every game,” Schroeder said. “We are getting better and better as the season goes on.”
On the mound was junior Jeremiah Weatherford. The lanky lefty was on top of his game as far as keeping Decatur hitters off-balance — a side that has averaged almost eight runs a game (7.6) was kept in check.
“It was super important to us. We knew we had to come out and get one against a really tough team. The change-up was feeling really nice today. I was really able to get long with it and feel it out front today. It worked really well today against them,” Weatherford said.
Weatherford threw all six innings for the Lions, who were the visitors despite playing at home because of the weather. Weatherford struck out seven, allowed six hits and of the four runs, three were earned. Even Decatur Manager Chris Fox was impressed with his performance.
“He was great. I had never seen him before, but he really had our guys tied up on the right side of the plate. I thought he was phenomenal. One of the best pitchers we have faced all year,” Fox said.
Weatherford was just two outings removed from an outing where he pitched just one inning, giving up six runs with only one being earned. But he made a statement against Decatur.
“He threw really well today. That was probably his best game yet. He’s thrown pretty good this season, but he was just steady and pitched to contact. He stayed level, didn’t get too high or too low,” Schroeder said.
In terms of offense, the Lions were producing early. Against starter Landon Le in the second inning, Danner Philbrick singled and later came around to score on a wild pitch to give Auburn Mountainview a 1-0 lead.
The Lions added a run in the third after four Lions in a row reached base. Caden Shoul singled, Philbrick walked and Brennen Grames singled home Shoul.
Decatur responded in their half of the third as a two-out triple tied the game at 2-2 by Spencer Holloway. The Gators up until the third inning had been retired in order in the first and second frames.
The two sides went scoreless until the fifth inning, as Decatur scored the eventual game-winning runs. An Eric Havili double put runners on second and third, Jacob Pech scored on a wild pitch, and Havili scored on a single to take a 4-2 lead.
Mountainview did mount an effort in the seventh inning. The Lions had been held in check by Gator reliever Tyler Buol, who had given up just a single hit in three innings of work. Grames singled for his second hit of the day and stole second with Lucas McGraw at the plate. The leftfielder singled to right, and Grames came around to cut the lead to one with two outs.
“It’s huge, especially when the bottom of the lineup comes up clutch. That really gets you hyped up knowing they got that in them and you can do it yourself too. It brings a spark in the dugout,” Weatherford said.
The Lions had more hits than Decatur, drew more walks than the first place Gators, and put a lot of pressure on a team that has been in cruise control all year.
“You just got to keep on them and telling them what they are doing right so they do progress. Hopefully we got our best baseball coming up going into playoffs,” Schroeder said.
Mountainview takes on Kentlake for two games before closing out the regular season with a two-game dance against Thomas Jefferson High School, which is a game ahead of the Lions in the standings.
“I’m looking for attitude and effort. That’s what we preach to them every day. As long as they can keep their attitude and effort up, I think we got a really good chance,” Schroeder said.