Right mix for Bentworth’s Nickeson
Bentworth catcher Jacob Maimone dives for but can’t come up with a foul ball against Carmichaels at Consol Energy Park Saturday during the Washington Wild Things Invitational.
California’s Louden Conte allowed one hit in three innings in the Trojans’ 16-1 victory against Waynesburg at Consol Energy Park Saturday.
Riley Nickeson’s approach Saturday was like a well-rehearsed recipe: sneak a slider in the low outside corner, fire a fastball inside to keep a hitter from leaning in and sprinkle another slider outside the strike zone.
The Bentworth junior wasn’t raising eyebrows with velocity, but he didn’t need speed to impress the opposing head coach or help his team earn a key win.
Nickeson pitched a complete game with six strikeouts and allowed just five hits to help Bentworth hold off Carmichaels for a 2-1 win in a Section 1-A game in the first of three games of the Washington Wild Things Invitational at Consol Energy Park.
Nickeson bounced back after walking three batters in the first three innings to retire eight of the next nine. The only run he allowed came on a passed ball and he pitched out of a jam in the seventh by striking out Cody Brown to end the game.
The win puts Bentworth (4-0, 6-2) in first place in Section 1-A with a key game against California tomorrow.
“His location has been great,” Bentworth athletic director George Linck, who is filling in for Dion Jansante as the Bearcats’ head coach, said of Nickeson. “That’s what we try to work on. He likes to keep the breaking ball low and make hitters guess a bit. He gets the job done when we play great defense behind him.”
When the Mikes (2-1, 6-2) did get runners on base, the defense made an impressive play or Nickeson methodically pitched his way out of the situation. Bentworth only committed one error and it came in the top of the seventh with two outs.
After Nickeson issued back-to-back two-out walks in the third inning, he got a strikeout on three pitches to end the threat. He also ended the fourth inning with a strikeout on a slider on the outside corner.
His success hinged on the slider, which kept Carmichaels off balance the entire game. The Mikes’ top four hitters in the order went a combined 0-for-10 with five strikeouts.
“They’ll chase it outside,” Nickeson said of his slider. “It will break away, then I’ll throw a fastball inside to back them off and I’ll throw the slider outside again. That’s usually what works for me. It usually takes me a bit to get adjusted to the mound and everything.”
The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth inning when Bentworth’s Hunter Neely, who went 2-for-4, and Nick Silver had back-to-back infield singles. Carmichaels senior pitcher Jacob Kinsell, who struck out eight and allowed only six hits, got two outs before Taylor Bunner lined an RBI single to left field.
The Bearcats got a much-needed insurance run in the seventh inning. Nickeson struck out to start the inning, but he reached on the wild pitch that reached the back stop.
Two batters later, Kinsell got another strikeout, but the third strike was dropped and there was an error on the throw. Nickeson advanced to third and scored three pitches later on a passed ball.
“(Nickeson) did a heck of a job,” Carmichaels head coach Richard Krause said. “We knew what he does. He’s always around the plate. You can see the influence of Dion Jansante. He’s such a smart pitcher and he mixes his pitches well. He kept us off track the whole game.”
With two outs in the seventh inning, the Mikes finally found success against Nickeson. Nathan Broadwater and Reed Long singled before Joel Spishock reached on an error to load the bases.
With Brown at the plate, Nickeson’s fourth pitch went between catcher Jake Maimone’s legs for a passed ball to allow a runner to score, cutting Bentworth’s lead to one run. But Nickeson got a strike out to end the game.
“I’m extremely happy with a win over a formidable foe,” Linck said. “Carmichaels has an excellent program, an excellent head coach and they have the top pitcher in the section. I think Riley is right up there with him though.”
California 16, Waynesburg 1:
California scored nine runs in the second inning off only three hits and clinched the win with a four-run fourth to defeat Waynesburg, 16-1, in a four-inning non-section game.
John DeFranco and Nathaniel Luketich each went 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBI for the Trojans (9-1), who took advantage of three errors by Waynesburg. Every starter reached safely at least once for California, which sent 12 to the plate in the fourth inning.
Louden Conte earned the win by allowing just one hit in three innings while striking out four. Casey Zajicek also hit a two-run single in the fourth inning to clinch the mercy rule.
“It was all about discipline at the plate,” California head coach Nick D’Amico said. “We preach that all the time. We didn’t get most of our hits until later in the game, but it was all about trust and discipline.”
The Raiders (4-5) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Terry Victor hit a two-out single to score Brandon Turcheck, but they would go hitless the rest of the game.
California tied it when Luketich scored on an error and it added nine in the second, including a two-run double by Luketich. The Trojans got two more runs in the third on a wild pitch and a passed ball.