Pratt, Carmichaels stay the course for key road win

REPUBLIC – Just like in life, sometimes in baseball it’s how you bounce back from adversity that reveals your character.
Carmichaels gave up three runs in the first inning then struck out looking three times in a row with the bases loaded in the top of the second on Wednesday against Brownsville.
For most teams, that would have proved to be the nail in the coffin.
But the Mikes, and starter Gavin Pratt, showed their resolve and battled back for a 6-3 victory and huge Section 1-AA win Wednesday afternoon at Redstone Park.
“I am so proud of this team for battling for all seven innings,” Carmichaels coach Richard Krause said. “They showed a lot of poise. Gavin was very poised on the mound. It was a lousy start for us as a team, but we never panicked. A lot of people don’t know this, but we usually start five freshmen or sophomores. I loved their poise today.”
After throwing 25 pitches in the opening inning, Pratt rebounded and put together a fantastic outing for a complete game triumph.
Pratt, who was only a reliever last season, allowed just four hits with 11 strikeouts and two walks on 106 pitches.
“I just had to adjust to the mound,” Pratt said. “I really couldn’t find my footing in that first inning and that affected me a little. After that I just calmed down and threw my game. They have a couple of good hitters, so I just wanted to keep the ball low in the zone and hit the corners.”
Pratt was effective at the plate for the Mikes (4-1, 9-1), going 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI.
“Gavin was our leadoff hitter last season,” Krause said. “We moved him to the three hole because he can hit the ball to all fields. He has gotten a lot stronger and he is just driving the ball into some gaps this year.”
Despite grabbing the early lead, Brownsville (1-3, 5-3) couldn’t muster enough offense in the later innings.
“You got to give a lot of credit to their pitcher for bouncing back after a rocky first inning,” Brownsville coach Scott Roebuck said. “Things were working for us early on, but we just couldn’t add onto our lead. We took way too many fastballs, and too many pitches in general. We made it too easy for them and were not aggressive at the plate.”
The Falcons tallied the opening run when leadoff hitter Austin Lincoski drew a walk, advanced to third base on a couple of passed balls and scored on a wild pitch.
Nicholas Keeney, who had two of Brownsville’s four hits, scored on an errant throw after a pickoff attempt. Rocco Frisco added an RBI single to push the lead to 3-0.
After the Mikes left four runners on base through the first three innings, the offense came through in the fourth and the rally was sparked by the bottom of the lineup.
Al Cree was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the Mikes’ first run, and a perfectly placed squeeze bunt by Drake Long scored courtesy-runner Jacob Hair.
Dylan Wilson then launched a ball to center field that went for a sacrifice fly that tied the score at 3-3, and Pratt added an RBI single to give the visitors their first lead.
After a scoreless fifth, Carmichaels tacked on a pair of runs in the sixth. Cree started the inning with a triple and scored on of a sacrifice fly by Long. Matthew Barrish singled with two outs and scored on a RBI double by Pratt.
“I put in a lot of work in the offseason,” Pratt said. “Just seeing the ball in the cage has really helped my swing this year. I am more confident and I’m just looking to drive the ball. I am staying back on the ball and just looking the ball into the zone.”
Despite allowing one-out singles in the final two innings, Pratt was able to work around the hits and preserve the road victory. For the game, the sophomore righthander induced seven groundouts.
Stush Ferek was the other Carmichaels hitter with a multi-hit game with two singles.
“We stayed the course,” Krause said. “I am thrilled with the way we battled at the plate. We have a lot of balance in our lineup. We knew that going into the season. I don’t think our offense is there just yet, sometimes it’s hit or miss. We can’t leave people on base. To win on this field against a quality team is huge for us.”