Woodland baseball rides ace past Leopold

LEOPOLD -- Lack of offense and a shaky defense are outright enemies to a pitcher.

Thankfully, for Woodland pitcher Ben McCormick, he's had a lot of friends lately.

McCormick pitched a five-hitter, and the Cardinals jumped to an early lead on the host Wildcats and cruised to a 5-2 baseball victory Tuesday afternoon.

"Whenever Ben's on the mound, we feel like we're going to have a chance to win just about whoever we're playing against," Woodland coach John Craig said. "So we just have to scratch a couple across and play good defense."

That's what Woodland did in improving to 6-2 on the season. The Cardinals scored once in the first on Ben Lincoln's RBI groundout, and plated two more in the second as Garret Reynolds and Devon Ritter hit back-to-back run-scoring singles to give McCormick, who pitched a five-inning no-hitter against Clearwater earlier this month, a comfortable cushion. The tall, senior right-hander took it from there, allowing single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to finish with a complete game. He walked four and struck out six.

Woodland first baseman J.D. Jenkins heads for home as he scores during the Cardinals’ 5-2 win over the Wildcats on Tuesday in Leopold, Mo. More game photos at semoball.com. (Adam Vogler)

"He's our No. 1 [starter]," Craig said. "He's been all we wanted, all we can ask for."

McCormick (3-0) didn't admit to being in total control throughout the game, but said his teammates helped get him through some tough spots.

"There were some times when I felt I was a little iffy," McCormick said. "I'm just glad we got the win. ... I feel like I have a pretty blessed team behind me every time I go out and pitch."

Reynolds was 2 for 3 with both his singles driving in runs, while Ritter was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.

"Once you get the lead early, then you have the momentum," said Reynolds, a sophomore shortstop. "Especially if you have a lock-down pitcher like Ben. He's just throwing strikes, and we have a good defense behind him. ... Pitching and defense wins games. We missed a couple plays, but we limited the errors, and limited them on the scoreboard."

Leopold’s Cameron Davis connects for a triple during Tuesday’s game.

Ritter, a senior second baseman, agreed the Cardinals' tight defense was key to the win.

"Defense is key when you're playing a team like this," Ritter said. "We [missed] a few plays, but other than that, our defense was solid."

McCormick and the Cardinals' defense was evident throughout. The first two Leopold batters reached base in the bottom of the second, but McCormick was able to set down the next three batters, getting the Wildcats' Dillan Vandeven to strike out with runners and second and third to end the inning. In the fourth, with runners at second and third and one out, McCormick struck out the next two Wildcats to end the threat. In the sixth, Leopold's Cameron Davis ripped a one-out triple to deep right and scored on an infield groundout. One out later, Zach Beel walked, but was erased on a fielder's choice.

McCormick then set down the Wildcats (3-4) in order in the bottom of the seventh for the win.

"He's a pretty tough pitcher to hit against because of the way he hides the ball in his hand," said Davis, Leopold's senior right fielder. "You can't really tell, like, what's he going to throw, or what kind of off-speed pitch he's going to throw. He's pretty hard to hit."

Leopold third baseman Zach Elfrink throws a Woodland batter out at first base during Tuesday’s game.

Defense also failed the Wildcats at times as only two of the five runs charged to Vandeven were earned. In the top of the second, with Woodland's Jake Long at first and two out, a throwing error put runners at the corners, setting the stage for consecutive run-scoring singles from Reynolds and Ritter.

Then Reynolds led off the top of the fifth with a walk, and a stolen base and two throwing errors allowed him to score Woodland's fourth run of the game.

"When you battle, and you cut it down to a two-run game, and then kick a couple and give them a run back, that takes pressure off of them and puts it back on you," Leopold coach James Lewis said. "If you make the plays, it puts more pressure on them to produce.

"It's unfortunate. Our defense has actually been pretty good this year. It just kind of abandoned us when we really needed it."

Vandeven pitched well, allowing five runs (two earned) on eight hits, walking two and striking out five.

"Defense really isn't the thing that we have trouble with," Davis said. "The last few games, we've had some errors that cost us a couple runs. We just need to tighten that up and we'll be good."

Lewis lamented his own team's lack of production at the plate, especially with runners in scoring position where the Wildcats were 1 for 7 with two strikeouts.

"[McCormick] made pitches when he had to," Lewis said. "I'm not taking anything away from Ben, it just wasn't a very productive day at the plate. And that happens."

Woodland 120 010 1 -- 5 8 0

Leopold 000 011 0 -- 2 5 3

WP -- Ben McCormick. LP -- Dillan Vandeven. 2B -- Garret Reynolds (W), Bryce Crites (W), Austin Bucher (L). 3B -- Cameron Davis (L). Multiple hits -- Woodland: Reynolds 2-3, Devon Ritter 2-4. Leopold: Bucher 2-3, Garrett Thele 2-3. Records: Woodland 6-2, Leopold 3-4.