Special to Southern Indiana Preps
CLARKSVILLE — Providence bided its time in the second game
of the Super Prep Tournament on Friday night against Morton High School from
Peoria, Ill.
The Class 3A No. 10 Pioneers were held scoreless on one hit
over the first four innings. They then exploded for 10 runs over the next two innings
to down the visiting Potters by a score of 10-2. The win upped host Providence
to 2-0 on the season.
"That's two games in a row where we've been able to
come through with some plays offensively," said Providence coach Scott
Hornung. "We've seen tough pitching to start the year off with. The
pitchers have been tough with both their breaking pitches and their location.
I'm really proud of the guys to do that back-to-back nights at the beginning of
the nights."
The game appeared to be shaping up as a pitcher's duel
through the first four innings. Morton pitcher Logan Peterson held the Pioneers
to a single hit through the first four frames. Providence fireballer Joe
Wilkinson likewise kept Morton from doing anything as well. The Providence
junior held the Potters to one run in the third inning, while scattering three
hits through that same time.
The game was Wilkinson's first pitching performance in two
seasons. He did not pitch at all last year due to Tommy John surgery. He was
dominating in this performance.
Morton (4-2) scored its only run off Wilkinson (1-0) in the
third inning. The No. 9 batter in the order, Evan Heal, doubled with one out,
and then moved to third on a single by Nick Guerra. Heal scored when the next
batter, Evan Pfeifer, laid down a bunt on the squeeze play, making the score
1-0.
Those were the last of the hits off Wilkinson. He went five
innings, surrendering three hits, striking out eight and walking just two.
"Wilkinson did excellent, coming off Tommy John the
first time out," said Hornung. "He doesn't lose composure, doesn't
get rattled. I'm very proud of him. His MO coming up was a hard thrower and not
much control, but he's improved quite a bit in that over the years."
Meanwhile, Peterson was coasting along for Morton, striking
out six batters over four innings. He would not survive the fifth inning,
however, as Providence sent 11 men to the plate. Peterson did not record an out
in the inning, and the Pioneers chased him after four batters.
Zach Tackett led off the inning with a hard-hit ball to
shortstop, which was misplayed into an error. Christian Graf followed with a
double, putting runners on second and third base with no outs. Kaden Williams
then walked to load the bases. Preston Taylor was then hit by a pitch, scoring Tackett
to tie the game at 1-1.
This ended Peterson's time on the mound, as he was relieved
by Vinni Massaglia.
A passed ball and a wild pitch scored Graf and Williams,
giving the lead to Providence at 3-1. The Pioneers would never surrender the
lead the remainder of the game, but they kept piling on from that point.
Timmy Borden walked to keep the rally going. It then
appeared as if the inning was going to be over without any more damage when
Adam Uhl popped out to first and Wilkinson struck out. Nathan Proctor got hit
by a pitch, however, and Eli Watson doubled home two more runs. Proctor later
scored on a wild pitch, and the Pioneers had plated six runs in the inning to
build a 6-1 advantage.
The Pioneers batted around again in the sixth inning,
scoring four more runs on just two hits. Morton committed two errors, however,
helping Providence's cause.
Williams started the inning with a triple to right field,
and he scored when the relay throw was mishandled for an error. Again, pitching
problems plagued Morton, with a couple of passed balls, and an error by pitcher
Brandon Brown set the table for more Providence runs. At this point, Providence
led 10-1.
Morton put a single run on the board in its final at-bat
against Providence reliever Hunter Sprigler to make the final score 10-2.
The Pioneers will travel to Salem at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday.
Note: Providence’s
final game of the Super Prep Tournament on Saturday against Morgan Park (Ill.) was
cancelled because of snow.
SUPER PREP TOURNAMENT
PROVIDENCE 10, MORGAN
(Ill.) 2
Morton 001 000 1— 2 6 4
Providence 000 064 x—10 5 0
W — Joe Wilkinson (1-0). L — Logan Peterson (1-1). 2B — Evan
Heal (M), Christian Graf (P), Eli Watson (P), Ashton Holcomb (M). 3B — Kaden
Williams (P).
Records:
Providence 2-0, Morton 4-2.
Multiple hit players:
Morton — Nick Guerra 2-3, RBI; Isaac Weber 2-3; Providence — Eli Watson 2-3,
2 RBIs.
Wilkinson pitching
line: 5 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 8 K, 2 BB.
Peterson pitching
line: 4 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 H, 6 K, 2 BB.
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