By T. Scott Boatright
In an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel, it was Choudrant’s dual pitchers that were the difference for the Aggies Thursday night.
Choudrant’s Bryce McGuire and Landon Hennen combined for a three-hit shutout to get past Doyline pitcher Noah Spears, who allowed only three hits himself as the Aggies pulled off the 1-0 win over the Panthers in second-round action of the Division V Nonselect School baseball playoffs on Tony Antley Field.
The Aggies’ lone run came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Kaden Bradshaw led off with a single before stealing second base and moving to third on a Doyline fielding error.
Choudrant’s Colton Smith then slapped a sacrifice blooper in between Doyline’s first and second basemen, giving Bradshaw just enough time to score from third for the lone run of the game.
McGuire started on the mound for the Aggies and had given up only a single to the game’s leadoff batter and two more singles to open the top of the fourth inning before striking out the final three batters he faced.
After scoring the run in the bottom of the fourth, Choudrant coach Joel Antley swapped out McGuire and Hennen with Hennen moving to the mound and McGuire taking over at shortstop.
Hennen struck out the first three batters he faced and finished with seven Ks after adding two strikeouts in both the top of the sixth and seventh innings.
McGuire struck out five Panthers before his move to shortstop.
“Ultimately, if we can swap them and they can be effective coming in, I like for it to be before (the opposing team) gets around to their third time through the lineup, just because that’s when you can really start zoning in on a pitcher,” Antley said of his decision to have McGuire and Hennen swap positions.
“Landon and Bryce are hand-in-hand out there, so I’m not afraid to go out there and make the switch. Even though Bryce was pitching fantastically, we moved to let Landon come in and finish it off because he gives a totally different look. Even though they’re both right-handers, they don’t throw anything alike.”
Antley felt good about getting past Doyline and Spears, who Antley said was even better than expected and finished with four strikeouts against the Aggies.
“We knew he was going to be good coming in,” Antley said about Spears. “He’s just a sophomore, so I’ve got to hope he goes somewhere else the next two years, because he’s only going to get better. He’s really good and stays on that outside corner until you show him you can hit it. Then he’s got a little putter that he throws that looks just like a fastball.
“But he didn’t just pile up a bunch of strikeouts. They played really good defensively. They made the one error in left field but it didn’t cost them anything. I knew it was going to be a tight ballgame if he pitched well and I knew they would go with him the whole way if they needed to. When he’s on the mound, they’re really good. I know they’re a 19 seed, but he plays basketball, too. So if he would have been in the groove early, they would have probably won every game he pitched.”
Antley said he hopes facing a pitcher that talented that early in the playoffs will only help his team.
“I’d rather face somebody like him early as opposed to somebody up there only throwing 70 miles per hour,” Antley said. “It’s an intro to what I think we’re going to see as we move down the line.
“We know every (playoff) game is going to be a battle and that you may have to win a 1-0 game. I can’t say I really like that pressure, but it’s good for them to see they can survive that.”
Antley also hopes that playing a tight game early in the playoffs will also help his team.
“There’s still that pressure in the playoffs knowing that if you mess up and lose, you’re home watching the rest of the way,” Antley said. “Even though this team has two (consecutive) championships under their belts, they’re still nervous once a game starts.
“But they’re really good at talking to each other about what they’ve seen and keeping their composure. It makes a difference when you’ve got good leaders.”
Antley also hopes the big crowd from Doyline that showed up to add to the game’s atmosphere will also help.
“It makes a big difference when you’ve got your fans here, and it will be even bigger next week,” Antley saud, “Knowing they can block those things out and not let it affect them is good. While we didn’t knock the baseball around everywhere, I don’t think it was nerves. I don’t think the atmosphere bothered them. And it’s always great to have the fans out here.”
But he also has some concern over this year’s new playoff game that will have his Aggies likely wait until next Friday to play a quarterfinals game against the winner of tonight’s game between ninth-seeded Bell City and eighth-seeded Hicks.
“It’s tough,” Antley said. “When you get down to it, these are still 15-, 16-, 17-year-old kids that are not playing baseball for five, six or up to nine days in our case when they’re used to playing practically every day for two months.And then bang, you don’t have that competition for nine days. It’s tough to keep focused. But everybody’s got to do the same thing, so we’ll just do it.”
