Scott County shows grit in comeback upset of Sayre in top-25 baseball showdown
Back-to-back losses to Henry Clay last week put Scott County baseball in a must-win situation on Tuesday against No. 7 Sayre, the 42nd District’s highest-ranked team.
Another sweep of the Cardinals by a district rival would mean relegation to the dreaded district tournament play-in game later this month for the 4 and 5 seeds, making long odds to advance through one of the state’s toughest divisions to the 11th Region tournament and beyond.
The going didn’t look good early.
Senior righthander Tyler Wands ceded a 2-0 lead to the Spartans in the first two innings, including a laser-shot solo home run to left by Sayre leadoff slugger Gary Gibson on the fourth pitch of the game.
“No worse way to start a game,” Wands said. “But, I mean, the guys are going to work behind me. I had absolute confidence.”
That’s because No. 24 Scott County retained its PrepBaseballReport.com Power 25 ranking this week despite three losses in their past five games for a reason.
The Cards don’t quit.
“We got both of those games last week against Henry Clay tied and, you know, just couldn’t finish the deal,” said Scott County coach Scott Willard, whose team rallied for four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning Tuesday and closed out a 4-3 upset of Sayre to secure a top-three district seed. “We were down 4-nothing to Montgomery (County), and I think we were down 7-1 to Madison Central and came back and won. We’ve kind of done that a couple of times. So they have belief that they can come back when they get down.”
Earlier this season, the Cardinals (21-7, 4-3) earned Willard’s 400th coaching win in Scott County colors in a 10-inning squeaker against Bryan Station. A day later, Willard got his 600th win overall against Montgomery County. Willard previously coached at Webster County and Shelby County before taking over in Georgetown in 2006. He led all three teams to region championships. His last at Scott County came in the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
With two on and two out in the fifth inning Tuesday, a Sayre misplay in right field on a looping fly ball down the line by Will Rose sparked a four-run Cardinals rally that proved to be the difference.
The Scott County scorebook gave Rose a two-run double, but Sayre coach Kevin Clary believed the ball should have been caught for their ace starter Banks Heinrich, who allowed five hits and struck out seven in losing his second game in eight starts
“We got exactly what we deserved,” Clary said. “Our pitcher was really good tonight, and we didn’t play clean behind him. If you give a good team extra outs, they are going to make you pay. Every loss we’ve had this year is because we didn’t play a clean game.”
After giving up the lead, an intentional walk to Scott County’s Duncan Stevens put two runners aboard for sophomore cleanup hitter Jacob Skinner, who smashed a double to right-center to score the other two Cardinals runs.
“This win was huge,” Skinner said.
Wednesday’s rainout of the rematch postponed Sayre’s chance for revenge, but Clary’s team took Tuesday’s lesson to heart in a 13-3 make-up game win at home against Frederick Douglass on Thursday.
The victory secured Sayre’s district top seed regardless of what happens when the Spartans (17-7, 6-1) meet Scott County again May 14. No. 22 Henry Clay will be the district’s second seed and will face Scott County in the semifinals in two weeks when the postseason gets underway on Sayre’s home field. Douglass and Bryan Station are the district’s bottom two seeds.
Scott County’s Wands made a number of key plays to keep his team in Tuesday’s game. He got a weak grounder for a double play to diminish Sayre’s damage in the first inning after the Gibson homer. He cleanly fielded a safety squeeze bunt in the fourth inning to cut down Sayre’s baserunner from third at the plate. He drew a walk in the fifth and scored as part of the rally.
Wands also struck out Sayre’s Gibson twice after the leadoff homer — the last came with a runner aboard in the top of the seventh inning. Two batters later, Wands got a popout to right to end the game.
However the rest of the regular season plays out, Scott County and Wands showed how tough the Cardinals could be in the playoffs.
“(Scott County’s coaches) know I can work out of a tough spot — first inning, last inning — I feel confident, even if I’m not striking out every guy,” Wands said. “We know what we’re capable of as a team, and we bounced back.”
Fayette County Invitational on tap
The annual Fayette County Invitational Tournament, featuring some of the state’s best baseball teams, takes place Friday and Saturday at five of the city’s public schools.
Games are scheduled at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Bryan Station, Frederick Douglass, Lafayette, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Tates Creek.
No. 3 University Heights will play at Tates Creek at 11 a.m. on Saturday before battling No. 24 Scott County there at 1:30 p.m., in possibly the best matchup of the showcase.
Also in action on Friday and Saturday at various sites will be No. 6 Lexington Catholic, No. 7 Sayre and No. 22 Henry Clay.
The complete schedule is available at the KHSAA’s website.
