Whiteford shows all its weapons during baseball sweep of Summerfield

PETERSBURG – Summerfield’s baseball team met the entire Whiteford pitching staff Friday.

The Bobcat hurlers left a lasting impression.

Summerfield managed just three hits in two games against six different pitchers as Whiteford swept a Tri-County Conference doubleheader 9-3 and 10-0.

“They’re good,” Summerfield coach Reid Olmstead said.

And they’re deep.

Nearly every pitcher who faced Summerfield Friday can top 80 mph on the radar gun.

Cole Giesige and Levi Hillard are the aces of the Whiteford staff.

But each of them tossed only an inning Friday as Bobcats coach Terry Pant saved them for a tournament looming the next day at Airport.

Those brief looks were enough to show how tough they can be. Giesige started the second game and dispatched Summerfield on a weak grounder to second and a pair of strikeouts.

“I used my fastball early to get ahead,” Giesige said.

Hillard came on for the second inning and mowed down the Bulldogs with a trio of strikeouts.

“I threw 90 percent fastballs,” he said.

Logan Tammerine took the mound for the third inning and duplicated what Hillard did with three straight strikeouts. When Tammerine walked the first batter in the fourth inning to spoil the perfect game, Pant turned to another hurler.

Isaiah Joerin threw the final three innings to wrap-up a combined one-hit shutout. He racked up six strikeouts.

“That’s the first time he’s ever pitched in a varsity game,” Pant said of the senior, who normally plays second base. “He’s been throwing well in the bullpen and in practice, so we just let him go.”

It’s another arm to add to Whiteford’s already deep arsenal.

“We have a deep pitching staff,” Hillard said. “We have four guys who throw over 80.”

“We have a ton of experience,” Giesige added.

Pant wanted to get all of his pitchers some innings Friday because it’s the first time the Bobcats have played since last week. Clinton called off a doubleheader against Whiteford Monday, then a twinbill scheduled for Wednesday had to be pushed back because of rain.

"It felt great to be back out there,” Hillard said. “Baseball is my favorite sport.”

Whiteford got great pitching in the first game as well. Shea Ruddy and freshman Nate Stevens combined to allow just two hits and struck out 16.

Cole Crouch tossed the first 4 1/3 innings, fanning nine. When he hit a batter and walked another to give Summerfield a scoring chance in the fifth, Stevens got the call.

Stevens walked the first hitter he faced to load the bases, then retired the next eight hitters in order, seven on strikeouts.

The deep pitching staff has Pant excited about the upcoming state tournament.

“This is the first time I’ve done this, and baseball is funny, but I told the boys we have a chance to go all the way (to a state title),” said Pant, whose team sports a 19-4 record and is undefeated in the Tri-County Conference. “I was serious about that. I think we have the pitching, the offense, the defense and speed on the bases.

“We’ve got the ammunition to do it.”

The offense Friday was led by Stevens. The freshman went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs in the first game, then went 2-for-3 with a double, three runs and aRBI in the second game.

Luke Rasor singled and doubled and Logan Tammerine tripled and scored twice in the first game.

Shea Ruddy had two hits, including a two-run single, in the first inning of the second game as the Bobcats erupted for six runs.

Giesige went 3-for-4 and scored twice and Hillard ripped an RBI double.

Logan Keane was the only Summerfield hitter who had much success. He belted a two-run homer in the first game and had the only hit for his team in the second.

“Logan swung the bat really good,” Olmstead said.

Summerfield is 0-14-2 in Olmstead’s first season as head coach.

“We don’t give up, I like that about our team,” he said. “I just tell them to keep doing what they’re doing. … I knew going in that we were a young team. We just have to get the guys some experience.”

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Whiteford shows all its weapons during baseball sweep of Summerfield