The Patriots were due in a big way offensively.
Coming into the fifth inning of the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader against Pillow Academy, they and the Mustangs were tied 4-4.
Opportunities had gone by the wayside since scoring four runs in the first two innings of play, but that big inning had evaded Heritage Academy.
That was until the fifth, scoring six runs off Pillow as it cruised to a 10-4 win. That fifth inning provided a much-needed spark as Heritage began district play 3-0, securing the nightcap of the doubleheader in dominant fashion, winning 11-3.
“It’s been a tough week and we talked a lot about applying pressure and playing with a lot of energy,” Heritage Academy coach Brad Haines said. “They’ve really bought into running the bases hard, playing a lot of small ball and that creates a lot of havoc and chaos. That allowed our guys to get up there, get some big hits, and take advantage.”
After the third inning of Thursday’s opener, it turned into a grudge match to see who could strike next and take control.
Early on, Patriots (10-8, 3-0 in district) starter Carson Hollis couldn’t find control, giving up three runs in the first and another in the third.
After that first inning, he settled down tremendously and began dealing, striking out seven over six innings of work, giving up one earned run and walking one. Toward the end of his outing, he even had a stretch of five-straight strikeouts.
“For me, it was really being able to settle down and find the zone and trust my infield and outfield to be able to make plays,” Hollis said. “My goal was to throw strikes and let them put the ball in play. I knew we would be fine.”
Having great offensive production late in the game made things that much easier thanks to a two-run double and two-run single in the fifth as part of that six-run inning.
The same offensive success carried over into the first three innings of Thursday’s nightcap: a three-run first, five-run second and another run tacked on in the third.
Jack Ketchum, already having himself a solid day defensively at third, put the exclamation point on Heritage’s early offense with a bases-clearing double to right-center, one-hopping the wall.
He went 4-for-4 in the game with three runs scored and four RBIs, adding another hit, RBI and run scored in Game 1.
“I saw a lot of sliders today,” Ketchum said. “I didn’t see many fastballs, maybe one or two, so I pretty much knew what they were going to come at me with.”
As the offense went, the pitching went, and it was an incredibly effective day on the mound for the Patriots, combining to walk five hitters over 14 innings on Thursday.
Heritage’s staff kept their composure on the mound, attacked hitters and weren’t afraid to pitch to contact with great defensive plays happening behind them.
“Our main thing is our starters being able to get into the fifth and sixth innings where we don’t have to use our bullpen a lot,” Ketchum said. “When we don’t walk guys, let them put the ball in play, they might score some runs, get some hits, but the biggest thing is not walking people and filling up the strike zone, which we did well today.”
A tough start to the season with non-conference play has led to a hot start in conference play, a perfect 3-0 after taking down Pillow in Greenwood on Tuesday night.
It was the start the Pats were looking for after those early-season struggles as they look to build off this success for the remainder of the season, continuing against Magnolia Heights at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
“They’re growing up and they start to see some good things happening and it just gets that momentum rolling,” Haines said. “This first week of conference play is so huge, so to get that sweep gives you a lot of momentum and positivity moving forward.”
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