Yeagy pitches M-G out of 5-game losing streak

May 10—FAIRMOUNT — While in the throes of a losing streak and looking at the prospect of playing the balance of the season without his top player — Teagan Yeagy — Madison-Grant baseball coach Curt Haisley shook up his lineup Tuesday night during an 8-5 loss to Mississinewa and the team's fifth straight defeat. Several younger players got their opportunity, and the move raised some eyebrows — and the ire — of a number of program supporters.

"I tried to shake some things up yesterday, and I'm sure half the parents are ready to murder me, and half the team is, too," Haisley said. "But we came out and we competed better than we had for the last two weeks."

Based on the way the team responded Wednesday, maybe the coach knows what he is doing.

Maverick Miller broke a 5-5 tie with a two-run double in the fifth inning, and Xavier Yeagy ignited rallies with his bat and went the distance with his arm on the mound as the Argylls upended Class 2A No. 4 Lapel 7-5, gaining a small measure of payback after the Bulldogs defeated M-G in the Nick Muller Memorial Baseball Tournament championship game in April.

Madison-Grant (11-10) ended the five-game skid while Lapel (16-6) dropped its second two-run game in as many days.

Haisley praised the way the Argylls answered the bell against the Bulldogs.

"I was really happy with the way my team showed up," he said. "We competed really well at the plate. We made the plays we needed to in the field. (Xavier Yeagy) did his job. They helped us a little, and (Lapel) had an off day, but right now I'll take anything we can get."

"It's a great eye-opener," Xavier Yeagy said. "Lapel is a good team, no doubt about it and to beat them on our home field, it feels so nice."

It did not appear early Xavier Yeagy would be anywhere near the mound by the seventh inning. Although he did not allow a hit until the fourth, he made a habit of putting Bulldogs on base early on.

Lapel plated a run in each of the first two innings without benefit of a hit. Owen Imel reached on an error to lead off the game, and two outs later scored on a passed ball. Lapel loaded the bases with a walk and two batters hit by a pitch, but Xavier Yeagy induced an inning-ending grounder.

The Argylls answered in the bottom of the first, and Xavier Yeagy got the rally started by leading off with an infield single and advancing to third on an errant pick off. He scored on a single to right by Levi Nelson, and after he moved to third on a single to right by Maddox Beckley, Nelson scored on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Richards for a 2-1 lead.

Xavier Yeagy hit Kai Newman to lead off the second, his third of five total hit batters, and after Newman moved to third on a wild pitch, he scored on Camden Novak's grounder to tie the game at 2-2.

Xavier Yeagy again led off the third, and once again the top of the lineup produced. He singled, stole second and scored on Nelson's single to left. Two outs later, Nelson scored on a single to left by Max Franklin and Beckley — who walked — also scored on a throwing error for a 5-2 lead.

"Xavier has been kind of our rock all year. He gets us going," Haisley said. "Levi Nelson by far, most improved or whatever — I'm so proud of the at-bats he takes. He's seeing the ball really well."

Lapel got its first hit on a single by Talan Jarrett in the fourth but put together its best rally in the fifth.

Isaac Bair and Cody Baker reached to start the inning, and Quentin Roberts drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly. With two outs and the bases loaded, Imel lined a single to right to score both Baker and Shaun Hathcoat — who Xavier Yeagy beaned — and the game was tied at 5-5.

The winning rally came in the bottom of the inning after two were out with runners at the corners. Franklin lined a 1-1 pitch over the head of the Lapel left fielder to chase Gavin Kelich and Luke Gilman home with the go-ahead runs, energizing Xavier Yeagy and the M-G dugout.

"We were celebrating so much in the dugout, and momentum is such a big part," Xavier Yeagy said. "We bring energy wherever we go, and that's how we roll. Little stuff like that just adds on to it."

After five innings, Xavier Yeagy was at 105 pitches and dangerously close to the 120-pitch single-game limit. He responded with a four-pitch sixth and retired the Bulldogs in order again in the seventh — his only perfect frames of the game — and finished with 117 pitches.

"I feel great, like a million bucks," Xavier Yeagy said. "A lot of it was my fastball. Just throwing where my catcher was setting up and hitting my spots worked great for me with my fastball."

Both teams will play at home Thursday as Lapel hosts Knightstown and M-G resumes its Central Indiana Conference schedule against Frankton, winner of its last five games.

Contact Rob Hunt at rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.