GREENFIELD — Adam Hutchison threw a masterpiece.
Walker Stull followed with one of his own.
Hutchison pitched a two-hit shutout in Greenfield-Central’s 2-0 victory against Pendleton Heights in the first game of Friday’s Hoosier Heritage Conference doubleheader.
Pendleton Heights’ Stull answered with a one-hitter in the nightcap in a 4-0 Arabians win, splitting the doubleheader and keeping the league leaders in the same position in the standings as prior to Friday’s twinbill.
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Pendleton Heights leads the league at 7-2. The Cougars are just one-half game back at 7-3. New Palestine isn’t far behind at 6-4. Mt. Vernon and New Castle play today. The Marauders are 4-4 in league play and New Castle is 4-3.
“It’s a very competitive and fun conference to be in,” Greenfield-Central coach Mark Vail said. “It’s like this most years.”
“You’ve got some quality teams in our conference,” added Pendleton Heights coach Travis Keesling. “We have to come out in these next couple of Fridays and play, because it may come down to that last weekend.”
The quality Friday was in the pitching.
In the opener, along with giving up just two hits, Hutchison fanned 10. He also knocked in the game’s only run.
On the mound, he had two strikeouts each in the third, fourth, fifth and seventh innings. In the third, he fanned Evan Douglas and Wyatt Douglas right after a Stull double.
A runner got to third base with two outs in the second, but a ground out ended the inning. He struck out the last two batters he faced and retired 10 of the last 11.
The only run of the game came in the third, Carson Gibson led the frame off with a walk. He moved to third on Blake Wilson’s single to right field. Wilson had two of Greenfield’s three hits, including a first-inning double.
Hutchison followed with a ground ball to short, Arabian shortstop Rene Casas was able to get the force out at second, but Hutchison was safe at first while Gibson scored the game’s lone run.
“Adam threw a really nice game in the first game and, obviously, we needed it in a 1-0 game,” Vail said. “He did not have his best stuff early on and he worked through it and did a real nice job. I’m real proud of him.”
The win put the Cougars temporarily in first place in the HHC. It also extended their winning streak to nine.
“Coming in, I knew we had to get one win. It would’ve been nice to get two,” Hutchison said. “I wanted to go out and dominate them.”
Pendleton Heights’ Luke Hargrave was pretty good on the hill, too. He gave up just three hits in five-plus innings.
The Cougars had more opportunities but weren’t able to score but the one run. They left eight on base, six in scoring position.
Stull had a no-hitter for five and two-thirds innings in the nightcap and he was able to get more run support. It was fortunate for him and the Arabians as Cougars pitcher Bradley McDowell settled down after a rough first inning.
Pendleton Heights scored all of its runs in the first inning. The big hit was a three-run home run by Casas. Only two of the runs were earned runs.
After the first two Arabians reached in the second, McDowell went on a stretch of retiring 13 straight, including striking out the side in the fifth.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, while McDowell had settled down, they were never able to get to Stull.
He walked one each in the first three inning and finished by retiring 13 of the final 14 faced.
Wilson, who had the lone hit with a line single to center field in the sixth, walked with one-out in the first. He went to second on a wild pitch and was the only Greenfield-Central runner to get in scoring position.
“I just think he was locating his pitches very well,” Vail said of Stull. “We didn’t make enough adjustments, or get a bunt down, or cut a swing down, but he was pretty sharp.”
Stull also finished with 10 strikeouts.
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Game 1
Greenfield-Central 1, Pendleton Heights 0
PH (9-5, 6-2);000;000;0;—;0;2;2
G-C (12-5, 7-2);001;000;X;—;1;3;0
WP: Adam Hutchison. LP: Luke Hargrave.
2B: Blake Wilson, Jacob Hauser (G-C); Walker Stull (PH). RBI: Adam Hutchison (G-C).
Notable: Blake Wilson 2-for-3 2B, Adam Hutchison WP, 7 IP, 2-hitter, 10 Ks, RBI (G-C)
–
Game 2
Pendleton Heights 4, Greenfield-Central 0
G-C (12-5, 7-2);000;000;0;—;0;1;1
PH (9-5, 6-2);400;000;X;—;4;7;0
WP: Walker Stull. LP: Bradley McDowell.
HR: Rene Casas (PH). 2B: Kamden Earley, Ben Richards (PH). RBI: Rene Casas 3, Ben Richards (PH).
Notable: Blake Wilson 1-for-2; Bradley McDowell retired 13 straight Arabians (G-C); Walker Stull WP 1-hitter, 10 Ks (PH).
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