Good pitching, good defense and timely hitting will win you some baseball games.
Wolcott was fortunate enough to get all three in a 3-1 Saturday afternoon win over Woodland Regional at Wolcott High School. The win gave the Eagles the Iron Division title.
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| Isaiah Negretti delivers a pitch during Saturday’s Wolcott baseball game against Woodland. |
First, the pitching. Isaiah Negretti, who is still battling back from strep throat, gave up one run in a complete-game effort.
“He’s been throwing good all year,” Wolcott head coach Tary Scott said. “Right now, he should be 6-0, but he’s like 3-0.”
Some things haven’t gone Negretti’s way, but he’s a “gamer”, according to Scott.
Next up, defense. Wolcott played that well, for the most part. There was one lapse in the top of the seventh inning that brought in the only run for Woodland.
“It’s been that one mental lapse,” Scott said of his 11-6 team. “If we put seven innings together, we’ll be tough.”
In one inning, Wolcott spun a 4-6-3 double play, then picked off a runner at first with a snap throw from home plate. There were also some good grabs in the outfield.
Last but not least, the offense.
Matt Warren blasted a triple off the left field wall in the bottom of the first inning. Ray Bartoli did his job, grounding out the other way to second base for the game’s fist run.
In the second inning, Steve Urbanski singled to bring home the second run.
In the third inning, Nick Longo sent one into orbit over the left field wall for a solo homer and a 3-0 lead.
“Longo’s a sophomore, he’s been swinging the bat well,” Scott said.
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| Nick Longo launches a solo home run for Wolcott. |
Wolcott is 11-6 with three games left, but there is still plenty more potential to unlock, according to Scott, who has been the head coach since 1996.
“I still say this is probably the best team I’ve had since I’ve been here,” Scott said. “We’ve just got to come together.”
There’s three games left in the regular season, then Wolcott looks to defend its NVL Tournament title. After that is the Class M state tournament.
Click here to see my photos from the game.
