Tates Creek tops Central 11-3

GEORGETOWN -- Noah Metcalfe turned in an outstanding performance during Madison Central's 2-1 win over Tates Creek on April 30 in Richmond. On Tuesday, the teams met again. And once again Metcalfe was on the mound. This time around, however, things turned out much differently. Metcalfe didn't make it out of the first inning as #2 Tates Creek (30-7) took control early and rolled to an 11-3 win over the #6 Indians (27-10) in the semifinals of the 11th Region Tournament.

 

Noah Blythe led-off the game with a home run to help jump-start a four-run first inning. Tates Creek advances to the 11th Region Tournament title game and will take on Lafayette at 6 p.m. today at Scott County High School. The Commodores finished with 15 hits. "That just shows how well Noah threw (against them) the first time," Central coach Steve Roof said. "Today, they were the better team." Metcalfe allowed just three hits, one walk and one run in the first meeting with Tates Creek. The junior out-dueled Konner Lewis, a right-hander who has verbally committed to Wichita State. Metcalfe only got two outs in the rematch as Tates Creek sent eight hitters to the plate in the first inning. Devin Ecklar came on and got the final out. He pitched five innings, allowing eight hits, four runs and two walks with four strikeouts. Senior Cameron Travis pitched the final 1 1/3 innings, allowing three hits, three runs (two earned) with one strikeout. Tates Creek had at least one hit in every inning. The Commodores scored twice in the fourth and sixth inning, then added three more runs in the seventh. "They are tough outs," Roof said. "They have a lot of talent." Blythe had three hits and five other Tates Creek players had two hits each. Lewis shined again for the Indians. He allowed just two runs on eight hits in the first meeting of the season between the long-time rivals. On Tuesday, the right-hander went 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits, three runs and two walks. Ben Snapp hit a two-run in the fifth inning and Bryce Travis had a sac fly in the fourth. Snapp was 2-for-4. Scott Simmons was 2-for-3 and Devin Hukill was 3-for-3. "I was proud of our guys," Roof said. "They fought the entire time. They've done what we asked all year. Lewis is a Division I pitcher and he did a good job." Hutchinson, 5/29/2019