Reed Garrett with complete game 3-hitter
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Any discussion of this game begins and ends with Garrett. He was ... any superlative you care to use. His slider was absolutely unhittable. He had more on his fastball than I'd seen from him this year. I think he gave up three chipped singles, one walk, one intentional walk, and only one other base runner on an error.
The big innings to me were the third and the sixth. Garrett Birnbaum threw a great 4 2/3 for Cosby, not the dominant stuff Garrett had but mixing and moving his pitches expertly. But in the third, Godwin got a solid leadoff hit from Matt Lees. Bunted to second. After the second out was gotten with no damage, a 2-out sharp single lined through the SS hole brought the runner around. (Thanks for the help below, this hit was by Mac Foster.) Cosby's James Sink made what appeared to be a perfect throw that, unless muffed at home, I think would have nailed the runner. But Cosby inexplicably cut the ball off. And that was all the scoring this game saw.
In the bottom of the inning, the lone walk got the leadoff man on, a pickoff throw got away to get him to second, and he was bunted to third. The batter was initially called safe at first when the throw pulled the 1B off the bag but after a conference the umpires called him out on a tag. (Good call to my view. Video on VirginiaPreps.com also seems to show the final call was correct.) With 2 outs, Christian Hamlett lined a ball that bounced fair in front of the third base bag but, again to my view, was properly called foul as it passed the bag. (Coach Lowery, in the third base box, did not agree.) But on the next struck ball the contact play was on and although the throw was high Godwin's catcher got the tag down. That's as close as Cosby got to scoring all game.
A 2-out error in the 5th got Birnbaum into a 1st/3rd situation and Coach Lowery elected to go to Carpenter. He shut out Godwin from there -- thanks in large part to a spectacular catch by Birnbaum, now in LF -- but Cosby just never got on the board. The game ended on a DP.
Top 6, Hamlett fought off a slider with a ball that squibbed with English down the first base line and got under the 1B's glove; he got to second. After a K for the second out, Godwin put Luke Lowery on to create a force and Garrett promptly got the next guy to hit a bouncer to 3B for the easy force.
I said in the other thread that I thought this would be very close, and that in those games you typically see Cosby stop one run and get one run to pull it out. This time it was Godwin who got the one run and stopped the one run and that was all Garrett needed.
VMI is getting a good one there. I'd guess he was 87-89 but the slider was an A+ pitch all game. I don't think there's any team any where that would've scored on him tonight.
The big innings to me were the third and the sixth. Garrett Birnbaum threw a great 4 2/3 for Cosby, not the dominant stuff Garrett had but mixing and moving his pitches expertly. But in the third, Godwin got a solid leadoff hit from Matt Lees. Bunted to second. After the second out was gotten with no damage, a 2-out sharp single lined through the SS hole brought the runner around. (Thanks for the help below, this hit was by Mac Foster.) Cosby's James Sink made what appeared to be a perfect throw that, unless muffed at home, I think would have nailed the runner. But Cosby inexplicably cut the ball off. And that was all the scoring this game saw.
In the bottom of the inning, the lone walk got the leadoff man on, a pickoff throw got away to get him to second, and he was bunted to third. The batter was initially called safe at first when the throw pulled the 1B off the bag but after a conference the umpires called him out on a tag. (Good call to my view. Video on VirginiaPreps.com also seems to show the final call was correct.) With 2 outs, Christian Hamlett lined a ball that bounced fair in front of the third base bag but, again to my view, was properly called foul as it passed the bag. (Coach Lowery, in the third base box, did not agree.) But on the next struck ball the contact play was on and although the throw was high Godwin's catcher got the tag down. That's as close as Cosby got to scoring all game.
A 2-out error in the 5th got Birnbaum into a 1st/3rd situation and Coach Lowery elected to go to Carpenter. He shut out Godwin from there -- thanks in large part to a spectacular catch by Birnbaum, now in LF -- but Cosby just never got on the board. The game ended on a DP.
Top 6, Hamlett fought off a slider with a ball that squibbed with English down the first base line and got under the 1B's glove; he got to second. After a K for the second out, Godwin put Luke Lowery on to create a force and Garrett promptly got the next guy to hit a bouncer to 3B for the easy force.
I said in the other thread that I thought this would be very close, and that in those games you typically see Cosby stop one run and get one run to pull it out. This time it was Godwin who got the one run and stopped the one run and that was all Garrett needed.
VMI is getting a good one there. I'd guess he was 87-89 but the slider was an A+ pitch all game. I don't think there's any team any where that would've scored on him tonight.
Great report, Midlo Dad.
The RBI single for Godwin was by senior Mac Foster.
Godwin's catcher, Cody Handshaw, is as good a kid as you'll find around here. He has overcome a lot off the field during his growing up years. Glad to see him shine on the big stage.
The RBI single for Godwin was by senior Mac Foster.
Godwin's catcher, Cody Handshaw, is as good a kid as you'll find around here. He has overcome a lot off the field during his growing up years. Glad to see him shine on the big stage.
Handshaw showed a lot of skills. Blocked everything, gunned down one base stealer too.
with Lees and Garrett, the two best pitchers in our Region, Godwin will represennt the Central Region well in the State Tournament. Congratulations Eagles.
Yesterday Garrett staked a claim to being one of the region's best pitchers. To be honest, though, he has not had that kind of stuff every time out. He got roughed up a few times this year, and though I've seen him with great stuff, this is the first time I've seen him sustain it for 7 innings. I kept waiting for Cosby to get to him in the 6th or 7th, but it never happened.
He certainly chose the right time to bring the A game. But there are others who have put up strong performances more consistently this year, so I would think that calling them "THE two best", as opposed to "two of the best", might be a bit of an overstatement.
First team all region pitcher honors went to Christopher, Lees and Scheetz, FWIW. And honestly, those three guys all went pretty much all season without ever really having a bad game.
But if Garrett can put up another outing like yesterday's next week, the Lees/Garrett one-two punch could definitely get them into the state championship game. Cosby is a stout lineup and I think Garrett showed he has it in him to shut down anyone.
He certainly chose the right time to bring the A game. But there are others who have put up strong performances more consistently this year, so I would think that calling them "THE two best", as opposed to "two of the best", might be a bit of an overstatement.
First team all region pitcher honors went to Christopher, Lees and Scheetz, FWIW. And honestly, those three guys all went pretty much all season without ever really having a bad game.
But if Garrett can put up another outing like yesterday's next week, the Lees/Garrett one-two punch could definitely get them into the state championship game. Cosby is a stout lineup and I think Garrett showed he has it in him to shut down anyone.
quote:Originally posted by Rock Bottom:
Great report, Midlo Dad.
The RBI single for Godwin was by senior Mac Foster.
Godwin's catcher, Cody Handshaw, is as good a kid as you'll find around here. He has overcome a lot off the field during his growing up years. Glad to see him shine on the big stage.
Amen. GREAT kid. ALWAYS smiling. In District Championship game, was down 10 - 0. All the DR and Godwin kids grew up together, so they all got real loud and were harassing Cody when he came to the plate. I think it actually made him a little mad (combined with losing badly), and he hit one WAAAAAAAAAAAY out. So it was 10-1 final. After the game, we took some great picks with him grinning arm in arm with his buddies from Deep Run. That's what it's all about.