Gray's strong outing, Lipscomb's power help Mill Rats bounce Kings
Jul. 23—It had been a while since Johnstown Mill Rats pitcher Brenden Gray pitched at least seven innings in a game.
The right-handed Seton Hill product noted after the Mill Rats' 3-1 win over the Champion City Kings that he hadn't gone that deep in a game since his junior year of scholastic ball at South Park High School near Pittsburgh.
On Thursday at Sargent's Stadium at the Point, Gray wiggled out of trouble in the first and fourth innings, and erased a leadoff single in the fifth before retiring the final eight batters he faced with four of his eight strikeouts coming in that closing flourish.
"I was definitely feeling better commanding the zone," Gray said. "I was able to put my pitches where I needed to. For sure felt better once I got out there after the fourth inning.
"I was definitely more comfortable out there."
Gray allowed three hits and walked two along with his eight punchouts over 98 pitches.
Some strong defensive play helped the Mill Rats keep the Prospect League's top-hitting club — a .286 average on the season before Thursday's game — off the board until a ninth- inning sacrifice fly by Alex Ryan plated Ethan Krizen.
"That was an outstanding start from (Gray)," Johnstown manager Parker Lynn said. "He was someone that when he first came in, we were slowly building up outing by outing, inning by inning. We started off two, three, four innings for us at a time. To see him be able to go seven strong and know that's in the tank for him is really encouraging."
During the Kings' second inning, Brandon Emery hit a quick-sinking fly ball to center with two outs only for Johnstown center fielder Christian Scott to lay out and end the frame.
"He's been lockdown in center for us for the short time he's been here," Lynn said of Scott's diving effort. "That's a really strong point in his game is keeping center field locked down, and being able to get reads off of balls and covering a lot of ground."
In the Kings' fifth, a Brent Widder grounder took shortstop Trey Lipscomb deep in the hole. A strong one-hop throw by Lipscomb cut down Widder.
It wasn't Lipscomb's only feat of strength on Thursday as he laced two hits and delivered three RBIs.
Lipscomb, a University of Tennessee product and a college teammate of Scott's, gave the Mill Rats a 2-0 lead in the third with his third home run this season — a shot to straightaway center. Damian Yenzi, who singled two batters earlier, also scored on the blast.
"I was trying to not fly open and just try to hit the ball to center," Lipscomb said.
"It ended up working. I got the pitches that I wanted to and we went from there."
It was one of the few mistakes on the ledger of Champion City's Jake Miller, who allowed all three of Johnstown's runs on just five hits while striking out 10.
With one gone in the Johnstown eighth, Yenzi tripled over the head of Emery in center and scored two batters later as Lipscomb singled to left.
Both Lipscomb and Yenzi had two hits on the evening.
Nick Roell pitched a perfect eighth inning in relief of Gray before Will Conroy pinned down the save in the ninth after initially loading the bases with one out before Ryan's sacrifice fly.
Johnstown (10-7 second half, 17-29 overall) maintained its half-game lead over Chillicothe in the East-Ohio River Valley Division second-half standings.
The Paints handed third-place West Virginia a 14-4 loss on Thursday.
Johnstown has another game against first-half division winner Champion City (3-12, 20-24) on Friday before heading to West Virginia for a pair to close the weekend.
Keeping the good vibes from Thursday's win — after two straight setbacks to Chillicothe — is key for the Mill Rats as they continue their worst-to-first push in the second half.
"We just pick each other up," Lipscomb said. "That's the biggest thing for us. Knowing that if you don't get it done, the next man can. Just do what you gotta do."
Shawn Curtis is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5085. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnCurtis430.
