LEBANON, Va. – The Lebanon Pioneers posted a 26-2 record last season en route to their second VHSL baseball title in three years.
Few of those 26 wins matched the drama of Tuesday night’s Class 2 Southwest District showdown against the Virginia High Bearcats at Pioneer Park.
Consider the scenario in the bottom of the seventh inning.
After being held hitless through six innings, Lebanon (5-4, 1-0) used a run-run scoring double from muscular 5-foot-11 senior Chance Parker and a throwing error with two outs to record a 3-2 victory.
“We love big games like this where teams come right at us,” Parker said. “We always know that Virginia High will be good competition.”
Eli Breeding, who bats first in the Lebanon lineup, led off the seventh by drawing a walk against VHS right-hander hander Luke Whitt.
Enter the muscular 5-foot-11 Parker.
“I was sitting for an off-speed pitch,” said Parker, a three-year starter. “I’ve been hitting the ball pretty well this season, so I knew (Whitt) was going to pitch me backward.”
After seeing a curveball on the first pitch, Parker anticipated another curve.
“And that’s what I got,” Parker said. “I poked the ball in the outer half of the plate and drove it into the gap for a double.”
Parker moved to third on a fly ball from Dagan Barton.
Following two intentional walks, the winning run scored as the VHS catcher overthrew the first baseman following a force play at home on a Toby Baker ground ball.
Emotions ran high between fans and players over the final two innings.
“That was just two good teams going at it,” VHS coach Adam Moore said. “I’m really proud of my guys for the fight they showed over seven innings. The bottom line came down to a couple spots in the seventh inning.”
VHS loaded the bases with one out in the top of the seventh inning but failed to score on a safety squeeze bunt and a wild pitch.
“With better execution, we score both of those runs,” Moore said. “Then in the bottom of inning, Lebanon took advantage of its situations to score twice.”
The story for most of the game involved the pitching battle between fireball right handers Bhraedon Meredith of VHS and Nathan “Tater” Phillips of Lebanon.
Behind a fastball clocked up to 85 mph, Merdith did not allow over five innings and recorded five strikeouts. Whitt relived Meredith in the sixth with a runner on first base and no outs.
“That was a hard decision,” Moore said. “Bhraedon’s pitch count was above 100, so we decided to let him pitch to one more batter before bringing Luke in. Through all last season, Luke was our best player for saving runs and closing out games.”
Moore had no regrets over his decision to walk the bases loaded in the seventh.
“We got what we wanted there, but we just got a little too excited on that final play,” Moore said. “Things like that happen. We knew what kind of program we were facing tonight. My kids worked all summer and winter for games like this, and eventually we’re going to get over the hump.”
Thanks to the help of smooth-fielding Whitt at shortstop, Meredith was able to navigate around eight walks.
The Pioneers closed their deficit to 2-1 in the fourth inning on four walks, as Breeding worked a free pass with the bases loaded.
A six-four senior, Meredith has been dominant at times over the past two seasons.
“We’re trying our best to find Bhraedon a spot with a college team,” Moore said. “Bhraedon can hit, run and really pitch when he’s on. Some coach needs to come watch him play.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Phillips, who has committed to play at Mount Saint Mary’s University, collected 11 strikeouts and gained steam as the night progressed.
“That was a great game,” Phillips said. “I’ve played with a couple of Virginia High guys forever and I have a great respect for them. To me, this is one of the best rivalries in Southwest Virginia.”
Both runs for VHS (3-5, 1-1) came in the first inning. After Whitt led off with a bloop single, sophomore Ollie Foy was hit by a pitch.
Whitt scored on a wild pitch, while Meredith drove home Foy on a groundout. Meredith delivered the only other hit for VHS in the third inning on a triple to the fence.
Phillips remained in control following his rocky first inning.
“I get a really amped for games like this,” Phillips said. “I mostly just went after the hitters with fastballs and curveballs. I had plenty of confidence that Chance would come through in the seventh. He hits bombs every day.”
Parker also displayed sure hands and a strong arm at shortstop.
What did Lebanon coach Cody Compton of the high-stakes drama?
“It was a good one,” Compton said. “(Meredith) threw a great game for Virginia High and Tater threw great for us.”
Compton was not surprised with the clutch hit by Parker, who entered the game with a .500 batting average and four home runs.
“Chance stayed within himself and drove the ball like I needed him to,” Compton said. “We’re capable of hitting better than we did tonight, but (Meredith) is really good. Tater got out of his comfort zone in the first inning, but he found his way back.”
Compton said he planned to replace Phillips with a sophomore if the game had gone extra innings. Phillips threw just under 100 pitches.
Parker embraced the pressure of the SWD clash.
“Virginia High gave us a good battle like we expected, but we fought back and pulled it out. This was fun,” Parker said.
Lebanon 3, Virginia High 2
Virginia High 200 000 0-221
Lebanon 000 100 2-311