| Madison Central coach Steve Roof had a hard time deciding who to send to the mound for a match-up with Bryan Station in the opening round of the 11th Region Tournament. He had plenty of options. |  |
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Ultimately, he turned to his coaching staff for input. “I have to give (assistant) coach Matt Rigsby some credit,” Roof said. “He said that without a doubt we should throw Lucas Myers.” Rigsby was right. Myers turned in a brilliant performance on Monday against the Defenders. The junior left-hander carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and led the Indians (28-7) to a 3-0 win. Station (8-21) had only three runners reach base — one hit, one walk and one error. “I found out yesterday, secretly,” Myers said with a laugh. “So, I was pretty sure I was going to get the start.” Myers had never started a postseason game, but he had been a big part of the Central rotation all season.
The junior had a win over Madison Southern in early April and pitched a three-hit shutout against Henry Clay a couple of weeks ago. “I was ready. 100 percent,” Myers said. The junior was in control from the beginning. He retired the first 14 Station batters before issuing a walk. Myers had four strikeouts and didn’t give up a hit until an infield single in the final inning. “He throws three pitchers for strikes and he’s just such a competitor,” Roof said of Myers.
Central got Myers all the offensive support he would need early on.
Trey Eden and Logan Thomason had back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Scott Simmons reached on a fielder’s choice, loading the bases.
Ben Snapp lifted a fly ball to left, which scored Eden from third. Thomason moved up on the play, then scored a few seconds later. “They threw over the cutoff man, so I went to third,” Thomason said. “Then the catcher threw to second. So, I just took off.” Central only had four hits off Station senior Noah Rodman. “We knew that Noah Rodman was really good,” Roof said. “We were lucky to get a few runs early off him. We knew it was going to be a battle.” Central’s only other run came in the third. Thomason reached on an error with one out and scored on a single by Snapp.
“That gave me a cushion and made me focus more,” Myers said of getting a lead early in the game. Myers carried the no-hitter in the seventh and hoped to finish it off. However, a groundball between third base and shortstop gave Station its first hit. The junior got a double play and a pop up to end the game. “I knew I was going to go back out there (for the seventh),” Myers said. “It didn’t work out, but that’s OK. The win is more important.” The Indians advance to the 11th Region semifinals, but do not know yet who they will face. The final first-round game between Lexington Catholic and Woodford County was rained out on Monday. The game is set for today. That means the semifinals will be pushed back to Wednesday and the championship is set for Thursday. Nathan Hutchinson, 5/28/2018
The junior had a win over Madison Southern in early April and pitched a three-hit shutout against Henry Clay a couple of weeks ago. “I was ready. 100 percent,” Myers said. The junior was in control from the beginning. He retired the first 14 Station batters before issuing a walk. Myers had four strikeouts and didn’t give up a hit until an infield single in the final inning. “He throws three pitchers for strikes and he’s just such a competitor,” Roof said of Myers.
Central got Myers all the offensive support he would need early on.
Trey Eden and Logan Thomason had back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Scott Simmons reached on a fielder’s choice, loading the bases.
Ben Snapp lifted a fly ball to left, which scored Eden from third. Thomason moved up on the play, then scored a few seconds later. “They threw over the cutoff man, so I went to third,” Thomason said. “Then the catcher threw to second. So, I just took off.” Central only had four hits off Station senior Noah Rodman. “We knew that Noah Rodman was really good,” Roof said. “We were lucky to get a few runs early off him. We knew it was going to be a battle.” Central’s only other run came in the third. Thomason reached on an error with one out and scored on a single by Snapp.
“That gave me a cushion and made me focus more,” Myers said of getting a lead early in the game. Myers carried the no-hitter in the seventh and hoped to finish it off. However, a groundball between third base and shortstop gave Station its first hit. The junior got a double play and a pop up to end the game. “I knew I was going to go back out there (for the seventh),” Myers said. “It didn’t work out, but that’s OK. The win is more important.” The Indians advance to the 11th Region semifinals, but do not know yet who they will face. The final first-round game between Lexington Catholic and Woodford County was rained out on Monday. The game is set for today. That means the semifinals will be pushed back to Wednesday and the championship is set for Thursday. Nathan Hutchinson, 5/28/2018
