WINCHESTER — With trips to the Region 4D championship game and Class 4 state tournament on the line, James Wood baseball went on the attack early en route to a five-inning victory over Millbrook at R. Charles Hott Field on Tuesday.
The North No. 1 seed Colonels defeated the No. 2 Pioneers 12-2 in the region semifinals, improving to 16-6 and winning the season series 2-1. Millbrook finished 14-8.
After excelling at pitcher in the quarterfinal win over Sherando, third baseman and cleanup hitter Parker Kerns led the way at the plate, finishing 4 for 4 with five RBIs and a run scored. He hit the game-winning RBI single in the fifth.
Additionally, Owen Neal, Tyler Prusik and Cole Ritter each recorded two or more hits, giving the Colonels’ top four batters 11 of the team’s 12.
"It feels awesome," Kerns said of his team's performance. "The boys were hot, everybody's swinging good, everybody's getting the barrel out in front, hitting the ball. That's the best game you can play, when everybody's hitting like that ... you're just having fun."
With this win, James Wood will visit South No. 1 seed Jefferson Forest (20-3) for a Region title game that will start at 6 p.m. The Colonels also clinched their fourth state tournament appearance in six years after missing out last spring, which head coach Adrian Pullen said was a motivating factor throughout the season.
"We're back in the state tournament ... everybody's expectation is that's where we need to be," Pullen said. "We've talked about last year several times, and about how we've got to remember that, and how that felt, and we don't want to feel that way again. Our kids have really responded well. They work hard. They're great kids, they really are."
The Colonels offense started hot, getting its first three batters on base to set up Kerns’ three-RBI double that drove in Ritter, Neal and Prusik. Kerns said Pullen told him to "stay short and get through the ball" prior to the big play.
James Wood ma Pioneers’ senior pitcher Dylan Apfel on his toes all game, as the Class 4 Northwestern District Player of the Year finished with seven strikeouts, four walks, seven hits and seven earned runs in 3.1 innings of work.
Kerns and Neal said practicing against a pitching machine that was set to simulate Apfel's throwing speed helped them feel more comfortable in-game. Pullen called Apfel a "bulldog competitor" and said his players did everything in their power to prepare for his pitches.
Additionally, Millbrook head coach Scott Jenkins said Apfel's struggles on Tuesday don't take away from the impact he's left on the Pioneers.
"We've asked a lot out of him this year, and he carried a lot of weight, both at the plate and on the mound," Jenkins said. "Everybody has a bad game, and he wasn't super sharp ... he threw way too many pitches in the first inning.
"I told him [postgame], he probably performed [exceptionally] 98% of the time this year, and at some point, you're not going to perform to your peak. You can't ask for more from a kid. He's led our team in innings. He's second in hitting. He's been a four-year player; I think we brought him up as a freshman late in that season. I'm super excited to see what he does at the next level."
James Wood extended its lead to 4-0 in the second when Neal walked, stole second and advanced to third and home on a pair of passed balls. Colonels starter Nolan Landry, who finished with six strikeouts, two walks, three hits and an earned run in four innings, sent the Pioneers’ batters down consecutively in the top of the inning.
Now ahead 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth, Ritter hit a single with one out, setting up an RBI double by Neal down the left-field line. Prusik dug in next and hit an RBI double to left center, scoring Neal to move the lead to 6-2.
Ahead of Kerns’ next at-bat, Millbrook replaced Apfel on the mound with freshman Jalen Henry, a recent callup from the JV team. Kerns hit a deep shot that landed against the left-field wall. The double drove in Prusik. Kerns then reached third and home off wild pitches, giving James Wood an 8-2 advantage entering the fifth inning.
Neal said running the bases with discipline was an important part of the win.
"We had to be aggressive," Neal said. "Dylan's a great pitcher. He holds runners really well, so when we did get the opportunity, we had to make the most of it. We did base running this week, and we were well prepared. Coach had us well-prepared, and it showed."
In the final frame, Ritter tallied a sacrifice fly to score Kaden McCullough, making it 9-2. McCullough and Lane Herring got on base to start the inning, causing Millbrook to replace Henry with Dylan Reich at pitcher.
With Cash Keeler running for Herring, Neal singled to advance Keeler to third. Prusik next hit a two-RBI double that dropped in center field to put James Wood one run away from the region title game.
Kerns then dug in one more time, clinching victory by driving Prusik in with a single hit to left field.
Pullen said Kerns followed the game plan, allowing him to find success.
"He's been making adjustments all year, and will continue to make them," Pullen said. "He was one of those several guys tonight that had great swings throughout the game, and he's just doing what we've talked about doing, which is just staying back, let the baseball come to [you], and then get barrel to the ball."
Millbrook scored twice with two outs in the top of the third. After Apfel hit a double that dropped in deep right, JT Wagner hit a similar pop fly single that scored Henry, who ran for Apfel.
After Holden Faith was hit by a pitch, Trenton Conley hit a grounder and reached on an error at shortstop, allowing Wagner to make it home and cut the deficit to 4-2. Apfel maintained Millbrook’s third-inning momentum by striking out all three batters he faced in the bottom of the inning.
Both James Wood and Millbrook loaded the bases with two outs in the first before striking out to leave runs on the table. Landry, a sophomore, allowed Millbrook to get through its first six batters early, but recorded a punchout to strand the Pioneers’ runners.
"To get out of the first inning after you've got some jitters in [your] first time in a postseason [was impressive]," Pullen said of Landry. "We get a walk, a couple things got away from us there, but then to bear down and make some pitches and get out of the inning with no harm done, it's just the mark of a kid that's got a great chance of being really good."
Brady Smith replaced Landry in the fifth and hit both Carson Hammer and Faith with pitches. With two outs and Hammer and Faith on first and second, Smith recorded a strikeout to bring the Colonels back to the plate for their game-icing bottom of the fifth.
Although Millbrook lost on Tuesday, Jenkins said he was pleased with his players' accomplishments this season, as the Pioneers greatly improved upon their 7-14 finish from last spring.
"Our seniors left the program better than they found it," Jenkins said. "I'm proud of what we did this year. We surprised some people. Next year, we're not going to be able to do that, so we're going to have to go to work and kind of tighten our belts a little tighter and figure some things out. But I'm super proud of the effort of all 14 [players]. They were dedicated, and they did everything we asked them to do."
With James Wood having less than 24 hours to prepare for Jefferson Forest, Pullen said the Colonels need to continue replicating the competitive spirit they've displayed recently.
"Just stay calm and keep competing. That's kind of been our mantra the last couple weeks," Pullen said. "Just play the game, just compete no matter what the score is, compete every pitch, try to win every pitch. You're not going to, but that's what we want to do. That's the mentality.
"[Wednesday] night we're playing for a home [state quarterfinal] game. There's nothing more that we want to do than pack this Hott one more time next week. We want to go down [to Jefferson Forest] and compete. At the end of the day, you want to win every competition that you're in."
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