LAWRENCEBURG — For Anderson County baseball coach L.W. Barnes, district play may be the most competitive in the state.
Entering the stretch drive with a 12-5 record through last week, Barnes was feeling good about the team. But he would feel a little better if his team could get a little healthier.
“We have only been at full strength for four of those games,” said Barnes. “So that’s both promising and disappointing. We really need for a few sophomores and freshmen to step up while we work through our injuries.”
Returning from a tough spring break trip to Florida, the Bearcats jumped right into the 30th District battles last Tuesday. The doubleheader against Shelby County proved to be the lone games of the week due to weather.
The Bearcats and the Rockets split a pair of district games on Tuesday.
The pitchers couldn’t have been much better for the Bearcats as they allowed just one earned run in 14 innings.
Anderson County won a 1-0 shutout and then lost 6-2.
In the victory, Judson VanNeste scattered three hits in his 4 2/3 inning outing. A key point of the game came in the second inning when he got out of a bases-loaded jam.
Dylan Azzinaro would get the call out of the bullpen and shut Shelby down the rest of the game for the save.
Offensively, the visitors could only scratch out four hits on the day. The lone run would come in the first inning.
Bradley Johnson led off with a walk and went to second base on a passed ball. On the steal of third base, the catcher’s throw was off line and Johnson was able to score the lone run of the game.
In the nightcap, things didn’t start out well for the Bearcats. Logan Grubb walked three and hit another batter to give up the lone earned run of the game. After that, Grubb settled down and dominated the game. He struck out 14 in five innings on the mound.
The game was tied in the seventh when a costly error opened the floodgates and Shelby County would score five unearned runs.
Barnes said it was a disheartening setback.
It was also a tough night at the plate as Jack Wills and Foster Whisman combined for 26 strikeouts over the two games.
“We just weren’t able to put enough balls in play to put any pressure on their defense,” said Barnes.
The Friday game against North Bullitt was rained out.
The short week followed a spring break trip to Florida that saw Anderson County drop three of the four games.
The Bearcats dropped the opener 4-2 to a very good Madison Central team. He said it was a great game between the teams.
Every rally was killed by one of the three double plays by Madison Central.
Barnes couldn’t even comment on the disastrous 10-1 loss to University Heights.
The team rebounded in another good contest against Henderson County but fell 4-1. The biggest loss was when leadoff hitter and shortstop Elijah Whitaker fractured an ankle on a slide into third base. Barnes is hoping Whitaker can return in a few weeks.
The Bearcats recorded just six hits while striking out nine times. The defense also had two costly errors.
Anderson County’s trip back home was a little more pleasant as they closed the week with an 11-5 victory over Hancock County.
Both teams were struggling to find pitching at the end of the week . He was pleased that while falling behind 5-0, his team found a way to score the final 11 runs for the victory.
On Tuesday, Woodford County was scheduled to visit for a district encounter. On the next day, Anderson County would return the trip.