Bruins survive a South County scare
By Jason Mackey
Given his choice, it's doubtful that Lake Braddock baseball coach Jody Rutherford wanted sophomore Ryan Lindemuth to turn last Friday's 11-8 home win over South County into a learning experience.But with a schedule that had the Bruins playing their third game in as many nights, and with starting pitcher Brenden Daley beginning to tire, Lindemuth was summoned to shut the door and protect what was a seemingly-insurmountable 10-2 lead.
After watching his pitcher throw three straight balls to start the top of the fifth inning, Rutherford pulled Daley in favor of Lindemuth, who started with a called strike to South County junior Nick Digby.
Digby crushed Lindemuth's next offering -- a waist-high fastball -- over the fence in left, igniting a South County rally that buoyed Lake Braddock's nine-run effort in the third.
“We're a quality-hitting baseball team” said South County coach Mark Luther, whose team posted seven hits in the game -- six of which were of the extra-base variety. “Once we relaxed and let it go, we got back to where we were supposed to be.”
The Stallions used three fifth-inning homers to score six runs -- an outburst highlighted by Seth Jordan's grand slam to left. After all of this, in addition to senior Jesse Beal's two-run, tape-measure shot in the fourth, South County (10-5, 8-2 Patriot) suddenly found itself down by only two, 10-8.
“A sophomore went through a little bit of a tough inning,” said Rutherford, whose team improved to 11-3 overall, 9-1 in the Patriot District. “He wasn't even making bad pitches. They were just doing a good job of hitting them.
Added Lindemuth, “It made for an exciting game, but I would have rather had it a little bit easier.”
It might seem inaccurate to call Lindemuth's line -- six runs on five hits in three innings -- a success, but go ahead, split it into halves. After his initial mess, the sophomore right-hander retired eight of the last nine batters he faced, including four strikeouts during that span.
“I had confidence in him,” said Rutherford. “He's pitched in bigger situations than this last year as a freshman.”
After starting at shortstop and hitting in the No. 2 slot on Friday, Lindemuth finished 3-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs. Seven of Lake Braddock's nine starters hit safely, while three players -- Lindemuth, senior Jordan Tiamson and senior Ryan Buckdrop posted multiple-RBI performances.
“South County has been the Patriot District champions for two years in a row,” said Tiamson, whose opposite-field double to right started the Bruins' third-inning rally. “We're going to try and take back that title. That's what makes this rivalry huge.”