Freshman hurler pitches Vina to key area win

By Staff
Mike Self
Franklin County Times
VINA – Vina coach Greg Hamilton remembers well what it was like to have a McCarley on the mound mowing down opposing hitters.
Just a few years ago, it was Patrick McCarley racking up strikeouts and wins at a prolific rate to help establish the Red Devils as a perennial playoff contender in Class 1A.
Now, Hamilton is hopeful that another McCarley can help Vina bounce back from a slow start and make another postseason push.
Morgan McCarley, Patrick's younger brother, struck out 13 batters in a complete game three-hitter on Tuesday as the Red Devils earned their first area win of the season with a 6-2 victory over Belgreen.
McCarley issued only one walk and needed only 94 pitches in seven innings of work. The young righthander struck out the side in the third and the fifth and retired the final ten batters he faced after allowing an RBI single to Jordan Williams in the top of the fourth that trimmed Vina's lead to 3-2.
"Not bad for a freshman," Hamilton said. "Morgan pitched a really good game for us today. He's pitched several good games this year that we haven't been able to win. He definitely earned this win tonight. Belgreen's a much-improved team. They're well-coached, and they don't make many mistakes."
Unlike his older brother, who blew hitters away with a fastball in the low to mid-80s, McCarley finesses hitters by spotting his 73-mile-an-hour fastball and relying heavily on his above-average curveball.
On Tuesday, McCarley took advantage of a low strike zone to frustrate Belgreen hitters.
"That's something we talked about every inning," Hamilton said. "[The umpire] definitely liked them low, and Morgan did a good job of hitting his spots. He made his mistakes when he left the ball up, and that's when they got their hits. But for the most part he did a good job of keeping the ball down."
McCarley got plenty of offensive support from his teammates. After the Bulldogs scored a run in the top of the first, Vina (7-12, 1-2 Class 1A, Area 16) took the lead in the bottom of the inning on a two-run double by Anthony Hester.
The Red Devils added a run in the third when Randy Barnes tripled and then scored on a single by Max Weeks.
Will Washington doubled and scored on Williams' hit in the fourth to pull Belgreen within one, but the Bulldogs would not get another baserunner the rest of the way.
Vina gave McCarley some breathing room with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Kyle Green doubled home a pair of runs, and Hester's RBI single made it 6-2.
Barnes finished 3-for-3, and Hester and Cass White each added two hits. Green, Max Weeks and Paul Wilkins each had one hit.
"We hit the ball pretty well today," Hamilton said. "We felt a little better when we looked in the paper today and saw that Covenant Christian had beaten Shoals Christian pretty handily and struck out 14, like they did against us. We needed to come out today and pick up a win to keep our momentum going."
The Red Devils will put their three-game win streak on the line Thursday at Belgreen.
Justin Gardner had one hit for Belgreen.