Published: May 10, 2008 11:37 pm         

Red Devils win section title

When Tyler Oliver bare-handed Rob Stephens’ feed to start a game-ending double play, Tyler Zimm didn’t flinch.

“It’s always risky when you do that,” Zimm conceded, “but I have all the confidence in the world in him.”

Zimm just knew there was no way Oak Hill was going to lose.

The Red Devils scored six runs in the fifth inning and Zimm settled down after the third in a 7-1 win over Independence Saturday at Shady Spring for the Class AA Region 3, Section 1 championship.

The win sends Oak Hill (30-3) to the regional semifinals. The Devils will take on James Monroe Monday, May 19, at Independence.

Like Independence last year, Oak Hill fought out of the losers’ bracket to claim the title. The Patriots lost the first game of the tournament to Shady Spring in 2007 but came back around and beat Oak Hill twice for the championship.

It wasn’t hard for the Devils to find motivation.

“We were close last year, and for us to be in the driver’s seat and them to come back and beat us like that was disappointing,” Oak Hill coach Chris Walls said. “It’s not a fact that it ate at us, but it gave us some determination.

“It gave us something to push us, and every time I saw us slacking in practice, and the days we were (practicing) in the gym because of rain, I’d tell them straight up, ‘Do you think that’s what Independence does?’”

Zimm confirmed as much.

“That’s the first thing Walls said at practice (Friday),” Zimm said. “That was the first thing he brought up, and that was our goal. We weren’t going to fall short again because we’re too good a team.”

Oak Hill delivered on that promise in the fifth inning. Trailing 1-0, the Devils sent nine batters to the plate against Patriots sophomore Kendrick Epling and took a 6-1 lead.

Marcellas McFarland singled and Garrett Thompson walked to lead off the inning. One out later, Dustin Nuckels reached on an error while trying to sacrifice the runners over. Stephens followed with a two-run single for a 2-1 lead.

Zimm grounded out to first to drive in Nuckels and make it 3-1.

After Frankie McGraw was walked intentionally, Aaron McComas singled to left to drive in Stephens. The ball was misplayed, allowing McGraw to score for a 5-1 lead.

McComas scored on a single by Oliver to cap the inning.

The big inning erased an impressive outing by Epling (3-4). The right-hander struck out the first four batters he faced and didn’t allow a baserunner until Nuckels’ two-out single in the third.

Epling finished with seven strikeouts and two walks over five-plus innings and was charged with all seven runs. He hit McFarland to lead off the bottom of the sixth before giving way to Mark Ward.

McFarland scored on Nuckels’ two-out single.

“Today, I thought Kendrick threw a heck of a ballgame,” Independence coach Joe Goddard said. “He jammed some people and the ball was just out of reach here and there. Several of the hits were like that. Once they got ahead of us, they started getting some base hits. We had chances to score and get ahead more than 1-0 and we didn’t do it.”

“I thought Kendrick pitched a heck of a ballgame,” Walls said. “We just got to him in that one inning.”

Meanwhile, Zimm picked up steam the farther he went.

The junior left-hander gave up the Patriots’ lone run after retiring the first two batters of the third. Jake Justice walked, moved to third on a pair of passed balls and scored on a single by Jeremy Buchanan.

After that, Zimm (9-1) allowed just one runner past second the rest of the game. He surrendered six hits, walked three and hit a batter.

Zimm pumped his left fist after Oliver turned the clinching double play.

“He does that (gets stronger),” Walls said. “He used to not warm up as much as he does now. It’s all because, by the third or fourth inning, he’s settled down and we know what kind of game we’re going to get.”

Zimm got some defensive help along the way. The Patriots loaded the bases with one out in the second, but Zimm got Trevor Gray to bounce into a 1-2-3 double play.

Independence (17-10) threatened again in the fifth, putting runners on the corners with one out. Buchanan grounded to McGraw at third, who instead of throwing to second to attempt a double play, fired home and gunned down Justice.

“I thought that was the play of the game,” Walls said.

The loss ended the season for the Patriots, who advanced to the state tournament last spring.

“Chris and them do a great job,” Goddard said. “They’ve got a real good ballclub. But I’m real proud of our team. We lost a lot of players from last year’s team and came back this year and I thought we did real well. We won 17 ballgames against a real tough schedule.

“We came here to the tournament and did well.”

— E-mail:

gfauber@register-herald.com



Oak Hill 7, Independence 1

I: 001 000 0 — 1 6 4

OH: 000 061 x — 7 7 2

I: Kendrick Epling, Mark Ward (6) and Jeremy Buchanan, OH: Tyler Zimm and Aaron McComas. WP — Zimm. LP — Epling. Hitting — I: Buchanan (rbi), Douglas Poe 2-3, OH: Rob Stephens (2 rbi), McComas (rbi), Tyler Oliver (rbi), Dustin Nuckels 2-3 (rbi).

Records: I: 17-10; OH: 30-3.