Druckrey's best start of the year lifts Edgewood baseball in battle with Greencastle

ELLETTSVILLE — For Carson Druckrey, it was all about the follow through.

The first four Greencastle batters he faced got on base, three of them scoring off a homer by 2021 Class 3A All-Stater Keifer Wilson.

Then he threw just the right 2-2 pitch to start a 4-6-3 double play. From that point on, he allowed no more hits, no more runs and finished up his starting appearance in the fifth inning with an unassisted double play.

By that time, Edgewood's bats, including Druckey's, had erased the early deficit, leading to a 9-6 Western Indiana Conference win over Greencastle on Tuesday. It was a great start to a five-game week for the Mustangs.

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It was the first win of the season for Druckey (1-0), whose last start came April 18 vs. Columbus East. He gave up just two hits, struck out six and walked no one, leaving with a 9-3 lead.

"He needed that," Edgewood coach Bob Jones said. "I came back from the JV game last night and I noticed he's over in the tunnel throwing to four or five kids. 'You're pitching tomorrow. What are you doing?'

"And I thought, when that happened the first inning, 'Here we go.' But after that first inning, he settled down a little bit and did a good job."

The only batters to reach after the first inning off Druckrey were off an error and a wild pitch third strike on a day when the wind was carrying anything to left a long way.

"I kind of started up in the zone and then I started to work down," Druckrey said. "I made a mistake and he took me yard."

But he found his rhythm and his form.

"Make sure you finish more," Druckey said of the key to keeping the ball down.

Making contact

Edgewood (6-8, 5-1 WIC) wouldn't take the lead until the third inning, but it was a big deal when leadoff hitter Cam Ingalls slugged a solo homer and Isaac Lawson followed with a double that enabled him to score on an error.

"They got the ball up in the wind," Jones said. "And we did the same thing."

The Mustangs left two in the second but left little lacking in the third, batting around against freshman Treyten Clark.

After back-to-back singles and a fielder's choice, Druckey tied it with a single to left. Alex Mullis walked to load the bases with one out before a wild pitch scored Brayden Ault.

Andrew Good beat out an infield single for an RBI and a 5-3 lead, then ZIggy Teran punched another run scoring single to left. A sacrifice fly by Aiden Goerges pushed the lead out to 7-3.

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"I like how we came back, we put the ball in play. Made it 3-2 and we had that strong inning. The lefty struggled a little bit trying to get his curveball up after a while."

That chased Clark, but the Mustangs kept rolling in the fourth. Conner Thummel doubled, Ault singled and the third throwing error by Greencastle's infield allowed two more runs to scoot home.

"Hitting is contagious," Druckrey said. "It was a good inning."

Save for Boggs

Reliever Jacob Waugh got in some trouble in the top of the seventh, giving up two runs after an error. With the tying run at the plate and runners at second and third, Jones turned to his closer Jacob Boggs.

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Seven pitches later, he had his first save of the year and Edgewood could prepare for Wednesday's trip to WIC foe Northview.

"I was pleased with our pitchers, especially Boggs coming in there," Jones said. "He's been real consistent coming in there and throwing strikes."

Red, black and green

Edgewood warmed up in special green t-shirts and players wore them under their uniforms during the game. Green ribbons were handed out at the gate and information on how to access mental health professionals was shared during the game.

Green is the color representing mental health and it's a special issue for a program that lost a couple of former players, Ryan Newman in 2019, and Zac Allam in 2021.

It's the 'playing hurt' warrior mentality and the stigma of seeking help that Jones wants to combat.

"We got together with our school psychologist and talked about stress and how to get ahead of stress," Jones said. "We wanted to make people aware. We talk to our kids, some people just don't say anything. They keep it bottled up inside."

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Druckrey's best start of the year lifts Edgewood baseball