WINCHESTER — Despite trailing for six innings, Millbrook baseball came through when it mattered most on Thursday.
The Pioneers entered the top of the seventh trailing 2-1 against James Wood at R. Charles Hott Field, but shifted the dynamic when shortstop Carson Hammer hit a two-RBI single with two outs to score pinch runner Jaxen Carter and catcher Brayden Silver.
Starting pitcher Dylan Apfel then capped off his complete game by recording two of his 11 strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh, sending the Colonels' batters down in order to make 3-2 the final score and help Millbrook improve to 4-3. James Wood fell to 6-2 in defeat.
In addition to his punchouts, Apfel allowed just two walks, one hit and zero earned runs, while also batting 1 for 4.
"Just trusting my teammates, trusting myself, trusting my coaches, all that just helps with everything," said Apfel about the key to his impressive performance. "That's what we've been preaching since the start of January, even in the fall. We have been taught that, and the process is working. We'll keep continuing it."
The Pioneers' comeback began in the sixth inning when Hammer made contact and reached second on an error by the right fielder. He advanced to third on a pop fly by Apfel that recorded the second out of the inning.
First baseman JT Wagner then hit a grounder and ran through the bag to narrowly reach first, driving in Hammer to put Millbrook's first run on the board.
In the seventh, right fielder Holden Faith and Silver each walked, before a passed ball allowed Carter and Silver to advance to second and third. Third baseman Dylan Reich also walked, leading to Hammer's game-changing hit with the bases loaded.
Hammer, who finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs, a run and a stolen base, said the keys to his late-game heroics were staying composed and taking what was given to him.
"I thought I had a good pitch to drive [in the sixth] and took a hack at it," Hammer said. "It felt good coming off the bat. I saw it, got down, got two [runs], and kudos to JT for putting the bat on the ball to get me in.
"[My mindset in the seventh was] trust myself, get a pitch I can drive and go with the pitch. Don't try and be too big, just put the bat on the ball."
Before the final two innings, Millbrook struggled to find offensive consistency. The Pioneers went down in order in the second, third and fourth innings, and stranded two runners to end the first and another to end the fifth.
James Wood went up 1-0 in the first thanks to designated hitter Jake Woskobunik's RBI single that brought shortstop Owen Neal in from second base. Neal, who walked in the first, later hit an RBI double in the fifth to score pinch runner Logan LaFollette.
Besides these offensive spurts, Apfel otherwise kept the Colonels contained. He faced 10 batters total across the second, third and fourth innings, with third baseman Tyler Day the only hitter to reach due to an error at first base.
Apfel recorded three strikeouts in the fifth to mitigate the damage before securing outs against the last six batters he faced in the final two frames.
Millbrook head coach Scott Jenkins said Apfel, who threw 75 strikes across 109 pitches, did a good job getting ahead on counts.
"He was in the [strike] zone early," Jenkins said. "That's what we talked about, as a race to two strikes, and as long as we can get ahead, then we can try to get them to chase. I think we walked a couple of guys when we got ahead on 2-0 counts, which is not ideal, but [Apfel's] got three quality pitches. He was ahead all night, got a little velo, so he's a quality arm in high school for sure. Good to have him on our side."
Though the Colonels struggled against Apfel, they received an impressive pitching performance from starter Parker Kerns, who pitched six innings, recorded four strikeouts and allowed three hits, a walk and an unearned run.
Kerns exited the game after 84 pitches and was replaced by Woskobunik, who tallied three strikeouts and no walks or hits in a relief inning against Handley on Tuesday.
James Wood head coach Adrian Pullen said his team is "here for the long haul" and decided not to push Kerns past his pitch limit, and said a failure to execute the game plan led to the Colonels' tough loss.
"We didn't execute what we practiced yesterday, what our game plan was, and that was to attack, and we didn't do that," Pullen said. "We sat there and watched, took strike one, let [Apfel] get in pitcher's counts, and he executed what pitchers do in pitchers' counts, and that's attack hitters and make them get themselves out. And that's what we did all night long.
"Hats off to Dylan and Millbrook, they did what it took tonight. They never thought they were out of the game, and they executed when execution needed to happen. They had great at-bats all night. We did not, but we ran into a great pitcher. He's one of the best pitchers in the [district]."
Millbrook will return to action on Monday at 6 p.m. by hosting Hedgesville, while James Wood will visit Warren County at 6 p.m. next Thursday.
Jenkins said he's liked the effort his players have brought, but said he's stressed to them not to get too high or too low during a long season.
"Our guys all play hard," Jenkins said. "We're still learning the game, when to do things at the right time and when to have energy, when to swing, when not to swing, when to be aggressive in the box and when to be patient. I think they did a fantastic job of that tonight.
"I think the results are showing from us continuing to work and continuing to follow our game plan. I told them, 'You've got to learn how to win with a little humility and lose with a little swag. You're going to lose some, and you're going to win some. Just continue to trust the process, continue to work hard every day and don't let it go to your head, because it's only one W.'"
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