ROB HUNT
THE HERALD BULLETIN
FAIRMOUNT — One of the many recent improvements to the athletic facilities at Madison-Grant is a new turf infield now in place at the school’s baseball field.
With the recent deluge of rain seen in the area, that turf paid instant dividends Monday as the defending regional champion Argylls were able to open their season against the visiting Wes-Del Warriors.
While the field made the game playable, it would be extra layers of clothing that would make the outing tolerable for fans and players alike. The game-time starting temperature hovered around 40 degrees with a howling wind out of the west that made things feel more like a January Packers game at Lambeau Field than a game involving the boys of summer.
“I have four (layers), two long sleeves (shirts), a jersey, and the sweatshirt,” senior starting pitcher Luke Gilman said. “It was pretty tough on the mound. You could barely feel your fingers.”
While both teams faced the same adversity, it would be the Argylls that thrived as Gilman pitched three shutout innings
and the M-G offense pounded the Warriors pitching staff to produce a mercy-rule 10-0 victory in five innings.
It was the season opener for both teams.
“It’s great that with all the rain we’ve had, that we would not be able to get anything in,” M-G coach John Walters said. “Now, we’ve got a turf field so we’re playing today. We’re just super happy with it and I think our kids are excited to be out there.”
One of the mainstays of last year’s pitching staff, Gilman took the ball and kept Wes-Del quiet over the first three innings. After surrendering a hit and a walk in the first inning, he went on to retire seven of the next eight batters to keep the Warriors off the board.
While far from perfect, it was acceptable for the first time out this season.
“Just getting the job done and having fielders behind you making plays, that’s nice to have,” Gilman said. “Every time I threw the curve ball, it hurt my fingers.”
While Gilman — who struck out three batters — kept the Warriors off the basepaths, the Argylls’ bats were busy and it did not seem to matter which part of the lineup was due up.
The first three batters reached in the bottom of the first as Levi Nelson singled, Gilman walked, and Xavier Yeagy was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Nelson scored on a fielder’s choice grounder from Tripp Haisley that forced Yeagy at second before Harry Brooks lined an RBI single to left for a 2-0 lead.
Brooks, the team’s sophomore starting catcher, broke two fingers diving into first base trying to beat out a third inning sacrifice bunt and will miss extended time, per Walters.
“That’s going to hurt us a little bit,” Walters said. “We have other guys who can step up, but we pray that Harry will make it back before the end of the season because he’s a key contributor.”
After the first-inning base hit, Brooks’ sacrifice opened the door to a six-run rally in the third.
Yeagy walked and Haisley singled before the Brooks sacrifice moved both runners into scoring position. Chad Lamb singled to score Yeagy and Brock Barnhart was hit by a pitch to
load the bases. After Brayson Martin’s tapper to the mound resulted in a forceout at the plate, Andy Stanley walked to force in a run and Nelson drove in a run with his second hit of the day. Two more runs scored on a wild pitch and an error for a six-run frame and an 8-0 advantage.
With the big lead, Walters and Gilman conferred and decided to hand the ball to freshman left-hander Dylan Martin for his high school varsity debut on the mound.
“(Gilman) did exactly what I wanted. I was hoping to get four innings or 60 pitches out of him,” Walters said. “Once we got a comfortable lead, we talked…I thought that was a good decision and leadership on his part.”
All Martin did was face six batters and retire all six, including four strikeouts, over his two innings of work. “That’s exactly what I wanted to see, get him some reps and see how he would perform at the varsity level,” Walters said. “The fastball looked good, and he looked real confident.”
Meanwhile, Dylan’s cousin Brayson singled home a run in the fourth and Haisley drove Yeagy home with a sacrifice fly in the fifth to trigger the mercy rule win for the Argylls.
Despite their status as a defending regional champion, the Argylls were not among the preseason’s
top 10 in the coaches poll. They will continue to hold on to their role as an underdog and did notice that omission.
“We like to keep that mindset and we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves,” Gilman said. “We have a list of who did (make the rankings), and we have a couple of those teams on our schedule.” Weather permitting, the Argylls will return to action Wednesday at Sheridan with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
Contact Rob Hunt at rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-6404886.