Lawless nearly flawless in Mikes’ 3-0 win over J-M
Mikes pitcher Brandon Lawless (7) fires the ball toward a Rockets batter.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Jefferson-Morgan pitcher Logan Bowman (26) rockets the ball toward a Carmichels batter during Monday’s game at Carmichaels High School.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Carmichels second baseman Tyler Shoaf (1) waits for the throw from home as Jefferson-Morgan’s Jordan Dicks (9) slides safely into second base for a steal during Monday’s game at Carmichaels High School.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Carmichaels’ Cory Fuller (13) scores a run for the Mikes on an RBI single by teammate Justin Newman during Monday’s game against Jefferson-Morgan at Carmichaels High School.
Jefferson-Morgan pitcher Logan Bowman (26) fields an infield fly to end the second inning while backed up by first baseman Josh Bissett (34) during Monday’s game at Carmichaels High. (Photos by John F. Brothers)
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Carmichaels second baseman Tyler Shoaf (1) makes the force out against Jefferson-Morgan’s Josh Bissett (34) and fires the ball to first but not in time for the double play during Monday’s game at Carmichaels High School. John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
CARMICHAELS — Carmichaels pitcher Brandon Lawless struck out 15 Jefferson-Morgan batters and tossed a complete game, one-hit shutout as the Mighty Mikes downed the Rockets, 3-0, Monday afternoon in the Section 1-A baseball opener for both teams.
Lawless, a three-sport athlete at Carmichaels, stranded Jefferson-Morgan runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings and seemed to pitch even stronger when the situation called for it.
“From last year to this year the maturity of Brandon Lawless is unmatched,” said Mikes coach Scott VanSickle. “He is everything I hoped he could be. Hopefully, he continues to work hard because he has a pretty bright future.”
Both teams struggled to put the ball in play throughout the game, as was a testament to the 23 combined strike outs in the contest. Jefferson-Morgan starting pitcher Logan Bowman was nearly as good as Lawless, tossing a complete game six-hitter, which saw him sit down eight Mikes hitters on strikes.
With both pitchers at the top of their games, the Mikes offense was the difference as they took advantage of the few opportunities that they had.
The Mikes struck in the bottom of the first inning. Center fielder Josh Mundell led off by ripping the first pitch he saw up the middle for a hit. Mundell advanced to second after the ball got past the centerfielder and then he advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Mike Blasinsky earned the RBI as he drove in Mundell and reached first base on an error to make it 1-0.
The Rockets tried to answer in the second inning after Josh Bissett reached base on a wild pitch on a strikeout. Lawless got Dom Cage to strike out looking before getting Travis Taylor to bounce into a force out. Taylor then stole second to get into scoring position, but Lawless sat down Rockets outfielder Jason Dotts on strikes to end the threat.
“Lawless pitched a great game,” Rockets coach John Curtis said. “He kept us off balance. Carmichaels played well. We didn’t play bad, but you just can’t win many games with one hit and no runs.”
Carmichaels added another run in the second inning when No. 9 hitter Justin Newman singled home designated hitter Cory Fuller.
Perhaps J-M’s best offensive opportunity came in the third inning when the Rockets had runners on first and second with just one out. However, Lawless quietly put away the Rockets with back-to-back punch-outs of the Rockets number three and four hitters.
Carmichaels tacked on a late insurance run in the home half of the sixth inning. Mikes outfielder Tommy Shoaf got things started by ripping a one-out double to deep left. Lawless then helped himself with an RBI single to make it 3-0.
Lawless then finished things off in order in the top of the seventh. The junior right-hander retired 10 of the last 11 Rockets batters he faced and surrendered just one hit, an infield single by Dicks in the third inning.
Despite the victory, VanSickle said there is plenty of room for improvement for the Mikes, especially offensively.
“We need to work on putting the ball in play a little better,” he said. “We need to work on our adjustments a little more. Three runs won’t win every game in the section.”
Carmichaels was back in action on Wednesday and beat Avella, 13-3, before an early section showdown with California at home on Friday. Meanwhile, the Rockets beat West Greene, 19-6, on Wednesday.