FORTVILLE — On its home field, the Mt. Vernon baseball team showed a late rallying spirit reminiscent of past playoff runs.
The Marauders won a pitchers’ duel 1-0 against Greenfield-Central in the first game of Sectional 9, hosted at Mt. Vernon High School. Jadan Cappelletti drove in the game’s winning run in the bottom of the sixth on Mt. Vernon’s second and final hit of the game.
“As long as I can keep dealing like that and know (my teammates) have my back, that’s all I can ask for,” Mt. Vernon starting pitcher Caleb Rush said after his complete-game shutout.
For Mt. Vernon coach Ryan Carr, the team’s performance was a welcome change of pace. The Marauders had been on a slide in recent weeks, with an 18-7 loss at home to Carmel the low point in a 1-4 stretch.
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“I think the fact they knew this was do-or-die,” Carr said. “We weren’t playing our best baseball last week. It’s nothing that I do; it’s something about these guys understanding what’s at stake.”
Rush was dealing for the Marauders. He threw an efficient 94 pitches over six innings, surrendering just a single hit early in the game. He induced the Cougars into two straight groundouts to third base — keeping his pitches low and away — in a fourth inning that marked a turn from sporadic walks to being a dominant force.
“The off-speed was definitely there late, but the fastball and slider really fooled them,” Rush said.
Adam Hutchison, Rush’s Cougars counterpart, saw success as well. The sophomore pitched a three-strikeout inning in the third and had the Marauders whiffing on his fastball through the fifth inning.
“That was unbelievable to watch — two guys on top of their game like that,” Carr said. “It was just such a great game to be a part of.”
The Marauders also shored up their defense, which was lapsing last week. Carr shuffled things around in the infield, playing Nolan Bowser at shortstop and Matthew Boyle at second base. Cappelletti remained at his flagship first base despite experiencing pain before his game-winning hit.
“We keyed in a lot on defense this week,” Carr said. “I think there was that loss of focus where we were in (contention) for conference and then we weren’t, but now we have this to play for.”
When the balls escaped the pitchers’ heat, they didn’t go far. Only one at-bat in the first five innings produced a drive deep into the outfield. A mild-yet-consistent wind blowing in at the Mt. Vernon diamond may have contributed to the depleted show of power.
Greenfield-Central coach Robbie Miller said the chances were there for his team. Between walks and an early hit, the Cougars had the better of the game’s meager chances through four.
“I told them baseball is a game of ‘when,’” Miller said.
Things grew interesting in the top of the sixth. Cougars junior Bradley McDowell broke a long streak of no players earning a base by beating out a rolling grounder off first base. Cappelletti and Rush were indecisive in fielding the play, resulting in an error. Rush escaped the inning with a Nicholas Atwood strikeout.
“I had all the faith in the world in the guys,” Rush said. “I knew no matter how late we went in the game, whether it’s four, five, six (innings), they’ll have my back and I’ll have theirs. Being able to go out there and give it my all when we play like that is amazing.”
Cappelletti would make up for this mishap in the bottom half of the frame. But first, Mt. Vernon needed a baserunner.
Enter Boyle. The nine-hole hitter came through with a hit between shortshop and third base. Boyle would yield to Will Nelson as a pinch runner.
The Cappelletti at-bat did not start off well for the senior. He fell behind early to Hutchison and hammered a hard pitch foul off his foot, resulting in a called timeout and more than a few limps to get over the sting.
But the slugger recovered in the batter’s box to drive in the winning run.
“Cappelletti is a good hitter,” Miller said. “He wasn’t trying to do too much with it and just got the ball in play.”
Mt. Vernon slugging senior Dino Tharp made his return after missing the past few weeks with a quadriceps injury. Carr plans to pitch Rush again — who will be on four days’ rest — when the Marauders play Richmond here in the semi-finals of the sectional.
“I’m so ready, I’m ready to get after it,” Rush said of the Monday contest.
