Shelby baseball survives late-game surge in district win over Morley Stanwood

By Brendan Samuels
LocalSportsJournal.com

SHELBY – Shelby baseball experienced every emotion in the book when they dispatched Morley Stanwood, 6-5, in the quarterfinals of the district tournament on Tuesday.

A shaky start on the mound from junior Lalo Garcia saw three Mohawks reach base on walks. With only one out recorded and the bases loaded, Garcia settled in and punched out consecutive hitters on strikeouts to leave the top of the first inning unscathed.

From that point, Garcia was lights out from the mound. Through six innings pitched, Garcia sat down 13 on strikeouts all while keeping the opponent away from home plate.

“That first inning (Lalo) just didn’t settle in and he seemed worried about their lead-off guy who was their best hitter,” Shelby coach Brian Wright said. “He came back and made some big pitches down the stretch. He’s been pitching that way and overpowering kids lately.”

Eli Kelley at the plate for Shelby (Photo/Brendan Samuels)

Efficient pitching was supplemented by timely hitting and heads up play on the base paths for the Tigers. Shelby scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning as Logan Selig made his way home from second base on a wild pitch that the Mohawks’ catcher couldn’t locate.

The Tigers stranded several batters in the third inning. With bases loaded, freshman Cam Smith made contact on a ground ball to shortstop. The throw was made in time at first, but Treyjin Waller coasted his way in to give his team a 2-0 lead.

Three additional runs in the fourth and fifth inning had Shelby sitting pretty with a 5-0 lead. That lead held through the sixth inning with Morley Stanwood failing to put up a single run.

All Shelby needed to do was find three outs in the top of the seventh and they’d advance. Easier said than done.

With Lalo Garcia’s pitch count at 104, Wright was forced to turn to freshman Danien Garcia in relief. Danien, one of the Tigers’ top three in the pitching rotation, struggled mightily to find the zone. After hitting the lead-off man, Danien walked two more and gave up a two-run single.

Shelby first baseman Wyatt Dickman (Photo/Brendan Samuels)

The Mohawks trailed 5-2 when Wright pulled Danien and inserted fellow freshman Chase Simon. Simon was able to throw strikes, resulting in routine grounders. Unfortunately, the defense behind him faltered.

Looking to turn a double play, Lalo Garcia unloaded a ball toward second base, but watched it sail wide of the mark. Two Mohawk runners found their way home on that play and suddenly the score sat at 5-4. Another grounder scored the tying run before Shelby freshman Eli Kelley turned a double play on a pop fly to second base.

“I was so confident in bringing in Danien, he’s been so good,” Wright said. “He just didn’t have anything today. Chase came in and found two ground balls and that was huge. He came in and did his job.”

Knotted up at 5-5, Shelby needed to string together consecutive hits to keep their season alive. Lucky for the Tigers, the middle of their lineup was up to start the final stanza in regulation.

Hitting lead-off, Simon was forced out on a grounder to the shortstop. With one out, two freshmen were relied on to be the heroes of the game. It started with Smith, who notched a double over the head of the right fielder. Then, after senior Travis Boughan earned a walk, Kelley stepped up and recorded a single as he watched Smith round third and score the winning run.

The Tigers had walked it off.

Treyjin Waller looking for a base hit for Shelby (Photo/Brendan Samuels)

Wright is no stranger to relying on freshmen in big spots, he’s had to do it all year with four starting on the varsity roster.

“We’ve got four of them that start and I know they don’t even shave yet,” Wright chuckled. “They’re growing and there’s a big learning curve, but the freshmen have been doing a nice job.”

With so much of the focus on Kelley and Smith’s heroics, one man fell under the radar. Carson Stovall, a situational player who hadn’t seen much game time this year, went 2-for-3 at the plate, often keying a string of base hits.

“Carson was in on the outfield rotation this year because I’ve been searching for the right guys to put there,” Wright said. “He struggles hitting, but he’s been working at it and today he stepped up big and was locked in.”

With their first walk-off win of 2023 on the books, Shelby will turn their attention to a familiar opponent in Hesperia. The Tigers will take on the Panthers in the district semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday in Hart,