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West Davidson handed the Panthers their second loss in three CCC outings this week, roughing up a short-handed pitching staff 8-4. The setback drops Ledford into a dead-tie with Salisbury even though the Panthers entered the week with a two-game lead over everybody in the CCC. The two teams will meet on Tuesday in a game that will probably decide the conference championship.
“They are a very quality team, but we knew after Tuesday night that in order to win the conference championship that we had to win this Tuesday night at Salisbury,” said LHS coach Chris Adams. “I won’t say that these games didn’t mean anything, because they all mean something, but we know the conference championship will be on the line Tuesday. We’ll be ready.”
With ace Justin Livengood mending a sore right shoulder, Ledford handed the ball to Cory Alcon in hopes the right-hander could find a way to mystify a powerful West Davidson lineup. While Alcon held his own at first, the Green Dragons made the necessary adjustments the second time through the batting order, eventually chasing him in the sixth with a 6-3 lead.
Ledford (8-2, 15-4) did strike first on a run-scoring single from Travis Vogler in the second inning, but the lead would be short-lived. West answered with three of its own in the top of the third to take the lead for good. Jordan Hudson got the Dragons on the scoreboard with a bases loaded double, scoring a pair. Pitcher Zack Burkhart helped his own cause on a RBI groundout and Alex Grubb ripped a double off the right-field fence, plating another.
“We understood Ledford probably did not throw tonight who it would have ordinarily,” WDHS coach Jerry Walser said. “At the same time, this is a marathon not a sprint. That’s why we play the games. Whoever is out on the mound, we still have to hit it.”
West wasn’t done there. The Green Dragons (6-3, 13-5) loaded the bases again in the fifth and got what Ledford had been getting until this week — a timely hit. Chris Ivey’s double brought home two more runs, but Alcon did a good job wiggling out of a one-out jam with runners in scoring positions to keep his team close.
“They stepped up and got some hits with two outs,” said Adams. “They did a great job getting two-out hits with runners on base. We out hit them but we just didn’t get the big hit. Our success has been getting that big hit. We had some chances.”
The Panthers finally started getting a bead on Burkhart in the fifth inning, but they didn’t get as much as they should have. Ledford put runners on the corners for Ryan Fitzgerald, only to have the center-fielder bounce into a run-scoring 6-4-3 double play. Patrick Koontz followed with a windshield-shattering homerun to right, cutting the deficit to 6-3, but that was all the Panthers would muster. West Davidson answered right back with two in the top of sixth, chasing Alcon for Fitzgerald.
Livengood’s pitching status for Tuesday is uncertain, meaning Ricky Vaughn will probably take the ball in Ledford’s biggest game of the year.
“By Monday, everybody should feel pretty good,” Adams said. “That’s one thing we tried to do with our pitching this week was balance it out to where everybody’s got some innings in. Everybody’s got to be ready on Tuesday.”
Staff Writer Eliot Duke can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 233, or at eliotduke@hotmail.com.