It wasn’t impatience on Landen Smith’s part as much as it was his baseball instincts kicking into high gear.
Greenwood’s junior leadoff hitter had just settled into the batter’s box on Tuesday when he took the game’s first pitch and deposited it over the center-field fence for a home run.
Smith’s blast off of Greenwood Christian senior right-hander Trey Harney helped set the tone for the Woodmen, who held on for dear life to defeat the visiting Cougars, 3-2, in the first round of the Johnson County tournament.
“I don’t normally get first-pitch fastballs, so I just had to jump on it early to get the game started,” said Smith, who along with his teammates secured a spot in a Saturday semifinal against Franklin at Center Grove.
“I usually wait two or three pitches, but being leadoff, I don’t get many fastballs.”
Both Harney and Woodmen starter Cade Kelly, a junior lefty, were solid on the hill, making every run that much more important.
Greenwood made it a 2-0 advantage in the top of the fourth when senior third baseman Sheldon Clark blasted a solo homer to left with two out. The Woodmen pushed across another run in the top of the sixth frame, pinch runner Cole Basey touching home plate on a fielder’s choice.
Junior Brendan Bailey got the inning started with a leadoff single to rightfield.
The Cougars (3-1-1), who had averaged an impossible-to-ignore 14.5 runs per outing in their first four games this season, got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Junior rightfielder Cole Muhlhauser led off with a single to right, with sophomore third baseman Caden Camden making it to first on a Woodmen fielding error. The runners advanced on a fielder’s choice and raced home when GCA’s No. 9 hitter, Mason Wright, had his fly into short left field glance off the glove of Smith, who had sprinted over from playing shortstop.
The Cougars also threatened in the bottom of the seventh, starting with senior first baseman Eli Ellis drawing a one-out walk off of Bailey, who had entered the game in relief. Colton Flint’s single to left heightened the suspense, but Bailey responded with a strikeout and a Camden groundout to end the game.
“It was a great game, and I’ll tell you, (Greenwood) made some incredible defensive plays,” Greenwood Christian coach Doug Hagist said. “You can’t get mad at that. It’s good baseball.
“I was proud that we put ourselves in a position to tie or win the game with two in in the seventh. There was no panic. We gave ourselves a chance.”
Greenwood, now 2-1, looks forward to the opportunity presenting itself Saturday, one made possible by the fast start against GCA.
“What we talked about a lot was setting the tone, and there’s no better way to set it offensively than the first guy hitting a home run,” Woodmen coach Andy Bass said. “And then the very first play on the defensive side, they hit a nice line drive and (center fielder Ethan King) comes in, lays out for it and makes a great catch, which I think started the defensive confidence.
“GCA is a good ball club. They swing the bat well. Harney throws the ball well. We knew we were going to be in for a dogfight.”
