Warren Shockey again did his job on the mound and Riverside’s offense manufactured enough offense to record a 4-2 win over visiting Jackson Center in a Division IV sectional baseball opener Monday.
Shockey, a sophomore right-hander, ran his season record to 10-4 by tossing a four-hitter with seven strikeouts.
The Pirates made the most of their five hits, using three of them to fuel a three-run fifth inning that gave the hosts the lead for good.
“I am proud of these guys. They are playing their best baseball of the season right now,” said Riverside head coach Todd Guthrie. “We struggled early in the season against some good teams, but they rebounded well and they go out there expecting to win now. That’s the big difference.”
Sixth-seeded Riverside (15-9) advances to face second-seeded Russia in the sectional semifinal at 5 p.m. Wednesday in Russia.
In his first varsity season, Shockey has been dazzling on the mound for the Pirates this spring. He recorded a five-inning perfect game in which he struck out every batter he faced last week against Waynesfield-Goshen.
On Monday, he held Jackson Center in check and gave his team a chance to pull out the win in the later innings.
“Warren has been tremendous for us,” said Guthrie. “He came in to today’s game leading the state in strikeouts on Max Preps, and with this win, I think he is going to be first in the state in wins.
“His command and control have been amazing. Coming into this game, he had a streak of 29 innings in a row that he didn’t allow a walk.”
While that streak came to an end with a walk against the Tigers on Monday, Shockey turned in another impressive outing.
Shockey opposed Jackson Center standout junior Carson Regula.
Despite not giving up a hit, Regula was removed with two outs in the bottom of the third after walking Shockey. The Tigers held a 1-0 lead at the time.
Regula was replaced by Eli Butcher, who gave up an RBI single to the first batter he faced, Simon Godwin, to tie the score at 1-1.
Jackson Center went back in front in the top of the fourth, using a two-out double and an RBI single to take a 2-1 advantage.
Riverside’s offense broke through in the bottom of the fifth.
After a groundout to begin the frame, Shockey walked and Godwin singled to center. A fielder’s choice grounder by Landon Stewart put runners at first and third with two outs.
Kale Long was then hit by a pitch to load bases. That set the stage for Deven Frilling.
It looked for a moment like the Tigers were going to get out of the inning unscathed as Frilling lifted a short foul pop fly to the right of the first base bag. But the Jackson Center first baseman was unable to make the play, giving Frilling another chance to come up with a big hit.
That’s exactly what happened as Frilling lined a two-run single to left that pushed the Pirates ahead 3-2.
“That was a huge hit by Deven,” said Guthrie. “He was given another chance after they dropped the fly ball and he took advantage of it.”
Following Frilling’s big hit, Regula came back in on the mound. He immediately gave up an RBI single to Zander Crouch. That gave the Pirates a two-run cushion at 4-2.
Shockey made sure Riverside stayed in front. He kept the Tigers scoreless over the final two frames to seal the win.
Now, the Pirates will look to get some revenge over Russia. The Raiders beat Riverside during the regular season.
“We have to take care of our defense and get some timely hits again,” said Guthrie of Wednesday’s matchup. We lost to them 4-1 early in the season. If we play good defense and get some clutch hitting, I think we will be fine.”
RIVERSIDE 4
JACKSON CENTER 2
Tigers. 100 100 0 — 2 4 0
Pirates. 001 030 X — 4 5 1
WP—Shockey; LP—Butcher.