High school baseball: Mountain Ridge finishes Region 2 series with statement win over Westlake

In the first game of the Region 2 series between Westlake and Mountain Ridge, the Sentinels performed how they thought they should by scoring 10 runs in the first inning for a dominant 15-1 win.

The victory, they hoped, was an omen for how lopsided the series would be, but Wednesday’s Game 2 left the Sentinels shocked as Westlake defended home field by winning 4-1.

Mountain Ridge head coach Brock Whitney said the loss was a result of his team getting ahead of itself, which the Sentinels made sure not to do Friday.

The adjusted focus was clear in Friday’s Game 3 as the Sentinels dominated Westlake with a 10-0 mercy rule win.

“I think our level of focus was improved, as was the intensity in the dugout, the level of respect that we had for Westlake,” Whitney said.

“That’s a good team over there. They’re going to steal some more wins in our region. They’re scrappy, and we definitely overlooked them on Wednesday, and their guys took advantage of it. Hopefully we learned from that to not overlook anybody else the rest of the year.”

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Friday’s focus was most noticeable on the defensive side of the ball, as Mountain Ridge kept Westlake scoreless while not committing any errors.

It also made big plays when it needed to. In the third, fourth and fifth innings, the Thunder had multiple runners on base — including a runner on third — and each time Mountain Ridge found a way to get out of the jam without giving up a run.

A double play in the top of the third inning with runners on second and third base especially was huge, as Mountain Ridge held only a 1-0 lead at the time.

“It was big, that double play line drive from (Schaver Dixon) to our third baseman, (Alex Krasner)," Whitney said. “Westlake had all the momentum at that point, but Schaver was able to snag it and keep his composure enough to deliver a strike over to third base. It was a big-time momentum switch.”

Offensively, the player of the game was clearly Brody Garrard. In four at-bats, Garrard had a double, a sacrifice fly, a home run and a walk-off RBI single.

He tallied four RBIs in the win.

“I saw a lot of fastballs, and just trying to attack the fastball,” Garrard said. “I saw a lot of off-speed. They couldn’t really locate, but I was trying to get the fastball and just put a good swing on it, and that’s what I did.”

Garrard helped put the game away, but strong hitting throughout the lineup gave Mountain Ridge the edge.

While its defense clutched out two-out situations, its offense was also pulling in runs with multiple outs. In the fourth inning, Mountain Ridge scored four runs with two outs.

Finally, with two outs in the fifth inning, Garrard hit the RBI single for the mercy rule win.

“One through nine, we all got hits,” Garrard said. “Like we’re just competing every at-bat and have a lot of quality at-bats.

“We’re a dangerous team, and the state knows that. If we play our best ball, we’re real dangerous.”