ASHVILLE — It’s nice to go from zero to 60 in say three seconds.
For the Waverly Post 142 American Legion Baseball team, they went from zero hits to 18 in a matter of three days —and with one game.
That’s because on Tuesday, the Shockers locked up the outright SCOL championship —by cranking out 18 hits, including a pair of home runs, en route to routing host Circleville 13-2 at Teays Valley High School.
That’s correct, as Waverly went from being no-hit against Hillsboro in a 7-0 loss on Saturday to 13 runs on 18 hits against Circleville on Tuesday.
“Nice team win for us. To collect 18 hits after being no-hit on Saturday is a nice rebound,” said Post 142 coach Jonathan Teeters. “Really proud of our team.”
The win wrapped up the Shockers’ fourth SCOL championship in five years, and clinched the top seed of six for next week’s four-day (July 18-21) Region V Tournament at Chillicothe’s VA Memorial Stadium.
Waverly is now 14-11, and at 6-1 and atop the SCOL, concluded league play on Wednesday with a makeup matchup against Chillicothe Post 757.
On Thursday, the Shockers will host Portsmouth Post 23 in a non-league bout —after sweeping Portsmouth in the regular season as part of the SCOL slate.
Against Circleville, the Shockers scored three runs in the opening inning, tacked two more on in the third, sprinkled in single points in innings two and six — and finally sent 10 batters to the plate in the seventh towards the final six markers.
Circleville scored its two runs in the seventh —combining an error, a stolen base, a wild pitch, a walk, two singles including one for a run batted in, and finally a fielder’s choice.
Ben Nichols and Jase Hurd had three hits apiece for Waverly, as Nichols notched a double and three runs batted in —including a solo home run in the sixth which made it 7-0.
Five Shockers secured two hits apiece —L.T. Jordan, Weston Roop, Dax Estep, Roger Woodruff and Tra Swayne.
Estep amounted three RBI and Woodruff a pair, as Roop recorded an RBI-double in the first —and Swayne started the barrage in the seventh with a leadoff solo homer.
Milak Diack later landed a two-run triple in the seventh, as the Shockers’ only other hit was an Alex Boles single in the fifth.
The fourth, in which Waverly went down 1-2-3, and the fifth —in which it sent five batters to the dish —were the only two stanzas in which the Shockers didn’t score.
But no worries, because with Boles on the mound, Circleville wasn’t scoring either.
Boles pitched the first five innings and allowed only two hits with one walk, as although he hit two batters —he struck out seven.
Boles faced four hitters apiece in innings one, three, four and five —and retired Circleville 1-2-3 in the third.
Estep pitched the final two innings, and struck out two in the seventh — following his two runs allowed.
In the sixth, he gave up a leadoff single and Circleville stole second, but he came right back with three straight strikeouts.
