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Lake Braddock's walk of life
Discounting a March 19 exhibition game between the two schools, which was played as part of a Spring Break tournament in Orlando, Fla., the Lake Braddock and West Springfield baseball teams met Monday for the third time this season, offering the Patriot District title to the victor. Call it the "rubber match" of the series, if you will.
After top-seeded Lake Braddock's tenuous 12-8 win over the No. 2 seed Spartans, the term "rubber match" might've carried a double meaning.
Much like those pliable office necessities, Monday's contest was unpredictable, tight and even a tad stretched out.
With only two 1-2-3 innings, most everyone was able to get comfortable in their seats, and a total game time of 3 hours, 5 minutes made sure those fans were hunkered down there for awhile.
But when Lake Braddock shortstop Ryan Lindemuth turned on a 2-1 fastball from West Springfield's Shannon Smith in the bottom of the fourth inning, a nip-and-tuck game opened and loosened just a little. Lindemuth, who was looking for a pitch on the inside part of the plate after noticing several outside offerings, laced a double down the left field line, pushing Lake Braddock to a 10-6 lead.
"It seemed like everybody had runners on base every inning, and it's just one of those games," said Lake Braddock coach Jody Rutherford, whose team won its first district title since 2004. "I really thought we grinded out at-bats tonight."
Senior right-hander Shane Halley started on the mound for the Bruins, pitching for only the fourth time this season because of forearm issues. The appearance was only Halley's fourth this season.
Halley struggled to throw his fastball for strikes in the first inning, requiring 31 pitches to get through a frame that saw the Spartans plate their first three hitters.
Lake Braddock responded with what would become a common theme of the evening -- making West Springfield's pitchers work. The Bruins earned four walks in the first inning and 13 for the game. Eleven of those 13 walks scored.
Lindemuth led the inning off with a walk, a feat the Bruins would repeat five more times out of a possible six opportunities. Halley also walked before senior left-fielder Shannon Mark (3-for-4, 4 RBIs) lined a fastball to right field for a run-scoring single.
Mark's line drive down the right field line barely eluded first baseman Mike Kent's glove in the bottom of the second inning, and Lake Braddock was well on its way to a four-run second and its 15th consecutive win, dating back to a 6-2 loss to the Spartans on April 1.
Halley recovered enough to pitch into the fourth, but after allowing the first two Spartans to reach base, Halley (3 IP, 3 hits, 5 runs, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts) was lifted for senior right-hander Brenden Daley.
After allowing a pair of singles to start his outing, Daley (4 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks and 5 strikeouts) settled down enough to let the Bruin bats get back to work. Braddock plated two runs in the fourth and later benefited from Lindemuth's two-run double in the fourth.
"Shane did a great job on the mound, and Brenden did a great job coming in," said Lindemuth, "but collectively, I think we just did a great job swinging the bats, having good at-bats ... not always getting hits, but getting walks and getting on base."
Added Daley, "When we need a pitcher, I try to throw strikes and that's all I can do. Today it was working for me, and I was able to hit my spots."
West Springfield was unable to build on any momentum they created by topping two-time district champion South County on Saturday. The Spartans posted six consecutive singles in the bottom of the seventh to score three runs against the Stallions, eventually escaping with a 4-3 win.
But little from that magical win translated into Monday.
"We didn't walk 13 guys on Saturday, that's the start of it," said West Springfield coach John James, whose team dropped to 13-4. "We put up eight [runs] and that's usually enough to win ballgames. But when you give up 13 free passes, you're going to give up a lot of runs."
Junior shortstop Bryn Renner turned in a multiple-RBI performance for the Spartans, finishing 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Senior third baseman Ryan Sullivan went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
"Lake Braddock has been the best team in our district all year," said James, whose team will face Langley in the first round of the region tournament. "They deserve to win it."
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