For a 5-0 shutout, this one had plenty of excitement. Clintwood shut the Big Red down in the first and in the bottom of the inning, Gladiator starter Zach Clymore experienced a little wildness but also got out of the inning unscathed. Then the drama started in the second.
The Gladiators had runners at first and second with two outs when a balk was called on Dailey, the Green Wave pitcher. That advanced the runners to second and third and Logan Wolfe delivered a solid hit over second base to score both of them.
Then in the bottom half of the second, Clymore continued to have trouble finding the strike zone and loaded the bases with no outs. Coach Painter then went with sophomore Ethan Whitehead, usually the number three pitcher in the Gladiator rotation.
Miraculously he got out of that jam with no runs being scored. The first man he faced hit a textbook double-play ball toward second and the runner was called out, but also called for interference which resulted in the batter being called out also. This was the second time in the playoffs that the Gladiators have benefited from that particular call as the same thing happened at Amelia.
Since the bases were loaded at the time that play started, it appeared that Clintwood had scored a run while the drama was taking place on second. But not only was the run wiped off the board, but the two guys who had been on second and third were sent back to their bases. Whitehead then induced a grounder to end the inning with no damage.
The Big Red then broke it open with three more runs in the top of the third, helped along by two Clintwood errors. Cody Swisher got things started and eventually scored but the big hit was a two-run single by Chance Staton.
From that point on, the game settled into a pitcher's duel. The Gladiators threatened a couple more times but failed to score again. Whitehead meanwhile pitched by far his best outing of the season and had a no-hitter going almost until the very end.
To Clintwood's credit they continued to battle and with two out in the bottom of the 7th, they broke up the no-hitter with a single up the middle. The next batter then delivered the Green Wave's best stroke of the day out into right-center and the guy from first tried to come all the way around to score. But the Gladiators were Johnny on the Spot to nail him at the plate and preserve the shut-out in the most dramatic play of the day.
RHS had nine hits for the day and although Clintwood made plenty of contact with the ball, usually they hit it right at someone and the Gladiators only had one harmless error to four costly ones for the Green Wave.
The keys to this win were Whitehead's mastery of the Green Wave batters, Clintwood's fielding errors, and the Gladiators' ability to find the gap with some timely hits. The Big Red now battles William Campbell tomorrow for the state title in what should be a doozy.
