By PATRICK MASON
Sports Writer
Faith Christian 8, Wayne Country Day 3
The Patriots advanced to the NCISAA 2-A semifinals with a convincing home win on Saturday.
Alex Crosby recovered from a shaky start and earned the win by pitching six innings. The left-hander said that his recent starts haven’t been as smooth as he would have liked, and he had some trouble finding the plate early on.
But as Crosby worked through the later innings, he found his control and settled in.
“He wants the ball all the time,” FCS coach Ronnie Beddingfield said of his starter. “He didn’t have his best control in the first couple, and I started to think about what kind of other options we had, but he wanted to keep the ball, and the longer he went the better he got.”
Crosby likes to work fast, a trait that helps him keep a rhythm when things are going good, but the fast pace can also hurt him when he doesn’t allow himself time to reset.
In Saturday’s game, there were moments when catcher Trysten Edwards took his time throwing the ball back to his pitcher, and other times Edwards waited an extra couple seconds before putting down a sign.
“It’s been bad and good for me,” Crosby said of working fast. “I tried to slow down today and play at my pace, not rushing through. I had to ask Trysten to take some extra time, maybe not throw that ball back to me immediately.”
He needed 101 pitches to get through six innings, and won’t be available until the state championship series at the end of the week, should the Patriots advance past Tuesday’s semifinal.
Garrett Pannell got the final three outs in the top of the seventh. Pannell has been the Patriots’ late-inning reliever this season, a role that Rocky Mount High transfer Sam Mills had for the previous two seasons.
“That’s definitely his role, he’s our closer,” Beddingfield said of Pannell. “He might be in some longer outings coming up if we get that opportunity, but he’s come in and shut the door on a lot of wins. I went to G early on this year, he throws harder than anybody, and when we put him in that role he definitely accepted it.”
FCS (19-3) had a two-round bye and waited nine days between games. The team stayed fresh by facing live pitching late in the week from N.C. Wesleyan players Luke Mills and Alec Titmus.
Crosby said seeing pitching from college players boosted he and his teammates’ confidence heading into Saturday’s playoff game.
“We threw to each other on Tuesday, and that’s good but we face each other so much during the year that it’s nice to see some different arms,” Crosby said. “And we all said, if we can hit them, we can hit anybody.”
Sports Writer
Faith Christian 8, Wayne Country Day 3
The Patriots advanced to the NCISAA 2-A semifinals with a convincing home win on Saturday.
Alex Crosby recovered from a shaky start and earned the win by pitching six innings. The left-hander said that his recent starts haven’t been as smooth as he would have liked, and he had some trouble finding the plate early on.
But as Crosby worked through the later innings, he found his control and settled in.
“He wants the ball all the time,” FCS coach Ronnie Beddingfield said of his starter. “He didn’t have his best control in the first couple, and I started to think about what kind of other options we had, but he wanted to keep the ball, and the longer he went the better he got.”
Crosby likes to work fast, a trait that helps him keep a rhythm when things are going good, but the fast pace can also hurt him when he doesn’t allow himself time to reset.
In Saturday’s game, there were moments when catcher Trysten Edwards took his time throwing the ball back to his pitcher, and other times Edwards waited an extra couple seconds before putting down a sign.
“It’s been bad and good for me,” Crosby said of working fast. “I tried to slow down today and play at my pace, not rushing through. I had to ask Trysten to take some extra time, maybe not throw that ball back to me immediately.”
He needed 101 pitches to get through six innings, and won’t be available until the state championship series at the end of the week, should the Patriots advance past Tuesday’s semifinal.
Garrett Pannell got the final three outs in the top of the seventh. Pannell has been the Patriots’ late-inning reliever this season, a role that Rocky Mount High transfer Sam Mills had for the previous two seasons.
“That’s definitely his role, he’s our closer,” Beddingfield said of Pannell. “He might be in some longer outings coming up if we get that opportunity, but he’s come in and shut the door on a lot of wins. I went to G early on this year, he throws harder than anybody, and when we put him in that role he definitely accepted it.”
FCS (19-3) had a two-round bye and waited nine days between games. The team stayed fresh by facing live pitching late in the week from N.C. Wesleyan players Luke Mills and Alec Titmus.
Crosby said seeing pitching from college players boosted he and his teammates’ confidence heading into Saturday’s playoff game.
“We threw to each other on Tuesday, and that’s good but we face each other so much during the year that it’s nice to see some different arms,” Crosby said. “And we all said, if we can hit them, we can hit anybody.”
