Ted Fletcher allowed four hits and had six strikeouts in a complete game.
Ted Fletcher and Tyler Green peer back at Gaithersburg's Kevin Brady in the seventh inning.
By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.comSherwood junior pitcher Ted Fletcher is the first to admit he isn’t Kevin Brady, Gaithersburg’s Clemson-bound senior fireballer.
“There’s no comparison,” Fletcher said. “His changeup is faster than my fastball.”
But despite a season on ups and downs, Fletcher got nod to start Saturday’s 4A West region final against top-seeded Gaithersburg.
And boy did he ever make the best of it.
Fletcher surrendered just four hits and struck out six in a complete game win as
Sherwood toppled the Trojans, 3-2, Saturday at
Gaithersburg despite notching just one hit.
The No. 11-seeded Warriors (14-5) beat Richard Montgomery, No. 3-seeded Quince Orchard, No. 2-seeded Wootton and now Gaithersburg, who entered with just one loss, to reach the 4A state semifinals for the second straight season. Sherwood will play the 4A South region champion Tuesday at the University of Maryland.
Sherwood reached last year’s final with a powerful lineup and strong arms. The Warriors will head back with a roster that features only two players that saw significant varsity playing time last year -- and Fletcher wasn’t one of them.
“I don’t have any studs,” Sherwood Coach Billy Goodman said before being questioned as to whether Fletcher was a stud. “Today he was.”
“We’re kind of going to our backup pitchers to lead us to the playoffs and that’s exactly what he just did,” Sherwood catcher Tyler Green said. “He knew he was going to win the game.”
That was until the seventh inning. Fletcher had kept Gaithersburg off-balance for six and two-thirds innings. He had two strikes on the Trojans’ No. 9 hitter, Kory Smigocki, before Smigocki lined single into right field. Then Tim Riley singled to bring the winning run to the plate in the form of Brady, who can not only pitch but swings a powerful bat as well.
“I went into the inning pretty confident and then some stuff happened and people got to me and I got a little nervous,” Fletcher said. “That was a bit scary. He’s the big gun in this league.”
Gaithersburg further rattled the right-hander when during Brady’s at-bat it pulled off a double steal, bringing home Smigocki and putting the game-tying run on second base. Goodman came to the mound and suggested that they intentionally walk Brady. Fletcher talked him out of it. Green told his pitcher that he was going to ask for just one pitch -- the fastball.
So with two strikes, Fletcher looked in with a blank stare and blew his fastball past Brady, sending Green running to the mound. Fletcher barely reacted, as if he was in shock. This was the biggest game of his career and he didn’t know he was even going to be pitching in it until five minutes before he started warming up.
“I was happy,” Fletcher said of his reaction when he found out. “I wanted this game. I wanted to win.”
After Friday’s game was rained out, Goodman asked some of Sherwood’s seniors who they wanted to take the hill, Fletcher or Brendon Metro. The seniors picked Fletcher, who says he simply locates his pitches and lets his fielders do the rest of the work.
On May 1 Metro lost a pitchers’ dual to Brady, who allowed just two infield singles and struck out 16 Sherwood hitters in a 3-0 Gaithersburg win. But due to the rule that pitchers can’t throw more than 10 innings in a span of three days, Brady didn’t take the mound until the fifth. From then on Brady didn’t allow a hit and struck out six batters.
“We talked yesterday and said, ‘We’ve got to get them before Brady comes in,’’” Goodman said.