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Over the last two games, Tahlequah baseball has started to turn the corner.
In that stretch, the Tigers’ pitching staff has given up three combined earned runs against Booker T. Washington. During that same two-game stretch, Tiger pitching has also struck out 20 batters.
“We pitched it really well the last two days,” THS coach Cody Pair said. “Everybody that we put on the mound pitched it really well.”
During the first game of the series, the Tigers threw their most reliable arm, Levi Kelly. A four-year starter, Kelly is the ace of the program and has produced so far in his senior season.
“Levi Kelly is a four-year starter we know what he’s going to be, he pitched in the State Semifinal for us, and he’s going to be good,” Pair said.
Outside of the ace, some younger pitchers are stepping up for the Tigers. Junior Cutter Girdner pitched in both games against the Hornets, getting some key outs in game one and getting the Tigers out of a tricky spot in game two.
On top of that, sophomore Will Talburt got the starting nod and spun a gem through the first five innings. The Hornets didn’t pick up a hit until the third batter in the sixth inning and had to use smart base running to take a 3-1 win.
Another sophomore, Rush Miller came in to finish out the game on the mound for the Tigers.
“We threw some young guys out there in situations,” Pair said. “Cutter did a great job of closing yesterday, he threw 30 pitches and I didn’t want to bring him back in, but I brought him in a tough spot to get us out of it. Rush Miller and Talburt are sophomores and they go out and pitch their tails off. They didn’t give up hard base hits.”
Right now the Tigers are working on building game experiences. As a young team, there are some game situations that they haven’t had a chance to experience yet.
One big example came during the sixth inning, after a run down a Hornet runner ran through second base straight to third. This wasn’t expected by the THS infielders and a rushed throw allowed a run to score.
“It’s just game experience, this game is like no other,” Pair said. “When we talk about baseball, there’s so many situations and so many things that we can come across, you can’t coach them all in practice. So it takes game time to replicate that.”
Up to that point, the Tigers were holding onto a 1-0 lead they picked up in the first inning. With two outs, Synjin Sampson struck a double to right field. One pitch later, Dobbins brought in the only THS run, with a line drive single to centerfield.
“We had a really good approach [in game one]. Today we hit it hard but we were a little off-timing,” Pair said. “That was on me, not the boys; I’ve got to get them better prepared.”
As the season goes on, Pair expects the Tigers to get back to the level they were when they made a run in the State Tournament last season.
“We have a chance to be really good in May, with the guys we’ve got on the mound,” Pair said. “We just have to keep getting better every day. In May nobody’s going to want to see us in a Regional, I know that for a fact.”
The Tigers are back in action at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27.
Continue reading...
In that stretch, the Tigers’ pitching staff has given up three combined earned runs against Booker T. Washington. During that same two-game stretch, Tiger pitching has also struck out 20 batters.
“We pitched it really well the last two days,” THS coach Cody Pair said. “Everybody that we put on the mound pitched it really well.”
During the first game of the series, the Tigers threw their most reliable arm, Levi Kelly. A four-year starter, Kelly is the ace of the program and has produced so far in his senior season.
“Levi Kelly is a four-year starter we know what he’s going to be, he pitched in the State Semifinal for us, and he’s going to be good,” Pair said.
Outside of the ace, some younger pitchers are stepping up for the Tigers. Junior Cutter Girdner pitched in both games against the Hornets, getting some key outs in game one and getting the Tigers out of a tricky spot in game two.
On top of that, sophomore Will Talburt got the starting nod and spun a gem through the first five innings. The Hornets didn’t pick up a hit until the third batter in the sixth inning and had to use smart base running to take a 3-1 win.
Another sophomore, Rush Miller came in to finish out the game on the mound for the Tigers.
“We threw some young guys out there in situations,” Pair said. “Cutter did a great job of closing yesterday, he threw 30 pitches and I didn’t want to bring him back in, but I brought him in a tough spot to get us out of it. Rush Miller and Talburt are sophomores and they go out and pitch their tails off. They didn’t give up hard base hits.”
Right now the Tigers are working on building game experiences. As a young team, there are some game situations that they haven’t had a chance to experience yet.
One big example came during the sixth inning, after a run down a Hornet runner ran through second base straight to third. This wasn’t expected by the THS infielders and a rushed throw allowed a run to score.
“It’s just game experience, this game is like no other,” Pair said. “When we talk about baseball, there’s so many situations and so many things that we can come across, you can’t coach them all in practice. So it takes game time to replicate that.”
Up to that point, the Tigers were holding onto a 1-0 lead they picked up in the first inning. With two outs, Synjin Sampson struck a double to right field. One pitch later, Dobbins brought in the only THS run, with a line drive single to centerfield.
“We had a really good approach [in game one]. Today we hit it hard but we were a little off-timing,” Pair said. “That was on me, not the boys; I’ve got to get them better prepared.”
As the season goes on, Pair expects the Tigers to get back to the level they were when they made a run in the State Tournament last season.
“We have a chance to be really good in May, with the guys we’ve got on the mound,” Pair said. “We just have to keep getting better every day. In May nobody’s going to want to see us in a Regional, I know that for a fact.”
The Tigers are back in action at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27.
Continue reading...
