BY TIM HAYES
Bristol Herald Courier
WYTHEVILLE — Shane Puckett has spent time on Patrick Henry’s junior varsity and varsity baseball teams this season. After his performance Friday, it’s clear that Puckett belongs on the highest level.
The sophomore tossed three strong innings of relief and earned the win as Patrick Henry posted a 7-6 Hogoheegee District victory over George Wythe on Friday afternoon at Bob Turner Field.
PH’s victory shook up the Hogoheegee standings. Chilhowie (12-5, 6-1) took over sole possession of the top spot, while George Wythe (6-6, 5-2) fell to second, a game back of the idle Warriors.
As for Patrick Henry, it was a much needed win. The Rebels (10-8, 5-4) entered the game having lost six of seven, but played much better on Friday and clinched the win in the sixth, when Marcus Montgomery scored on Ronnie Groves’ RBI single.
"We needed this," Puckett said.
The start of the game was delayed 32 minutes when Patrick Henry’s bus broke down on Interstate 81. The players had to get rides from their parents, but the transportation problems didn’t faze the Rebels. PH batted around in the first inning and plated four runs.
"We fell behind early," George Wythe coach Jason Lutrell said. "We were just trying to get out of the hole the rest of the game. We hit the ball well, but falling behind made the difference."
George Wythe managed to tie the game in the fifth when Devin Smith scored on an error. Puckett, who relieved starter Will Copenhaver with two runners on and no outs in the fifth, didn’t allow any more damage the rest of the way.
"He was playing JV on Tuesday and today was pitching in a one-run game. I’m sure he never thought he would be," Patrick Henry coach Jon Boyd said. "This was his second varsity appearance. He pitched some mop-up duty in a tournament in Honaker [earlier this season].
"He has great stuff and we’ve wanted to call him up from JV all year … He wasn’t rattled or anything. He just got the ball and threw it. He’s a tough kid and I didn’t expect him to wilt in any way."
Puckett struck out three and allowed just one hit in his clutch outing. He also kept George Wythe’s hitters off balance with a nice curveball.
"I’ve been working on it since seventh grade," Puckett said. "It was working pretty good … I had a good defense behind me. I knew if they did hit it, we would get them out anyway."
For Patrick Henry, Friday’s win also meant redemption. The Rebels struck out 21 times against George Wythe starter Devin Smith in a loss to GW last month. Smith suffered the loss in relief in the rematch.
PH leadoff hitter Caleb Frye walked in all four of his plate appearances, while Seth Harding and Montgomery had two hits apiece.
"It was a totally different game," Boyd said. "We swung the bats well, we worked counts to our favor. We also got some good hitting out of kids that have been struggling. We just battled up there."
Smith had three hits to lead George Wythe, while Kelly Kline tallied two hits in the loss.
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