By Phil Murphy
Content Editor, DigitalSports.com
**Re-live the game — and post-game — in 10 minutes with the video player below the story**
Thirteen days after to losing to No. 2 Lake Braddock in Orlando, Fla., No. 8 West Springfield overcame a two-run Bruin first inning to avenge the Spring Break downfall and score a 6-2 win on Tuesday much closer to home.
The Spartans leaned on the masterful pitching of junior right-handder Mike Kent and the power – and superstition – of sophomore designated hitter Charlie Morgan to defeat their local rivals.
Morgan, after a rough performance against West Potomac on Friday, altered his pre-game routine. Prior to the game with Lake Braddock (3-3, 1-1 Patriot), he shaved his facial hair and took batting practice in the cage in his backyard prior to making the short drive to the school.
“I did take batting practice before the game against Robinson and had a bad game,” a smooth-faced Morgan said. “Then I didn’t against West Pot and went 0-for-3, so I just said … ‘Screw it, I’m going to take it.’
“I try to keep good luck stuff like that. I shaved the goatee today, too. So now I’m shaving before every game.”
The superstitious sophomore provided what proved to be the game-deciding, two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. He pulled the first pitch of his at-bat over the right/centerfield wall.
“My first at-bat [Bruin pitcher Ryan Lindemuth] was throwing me low and in, low and in,” said Morgan, who finished 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. “When we played before he was throwing me low and in, so I just sat on it and I got it.”
Senior third baseman Ryan Sullivan drove in Tucker Tobin two at-bats later to give West Springfield a 5-2 advantage.
Handed a three-run lead, Kent would put the game away. After his first-inning hiccups, he held the Bruins to just two hits over the final six innings. Displaying critical control, he struck out six, walked four and threw 96 pitches — 62 for strikes.
“In the first inning, I was working too fast,” said Kent, whose older brother, Matt, played for Coach Jody Rutherford at Lake Braddock. “My arm was behind me and my curve ball was staying up. And my pitching coach sat me down to talk about it.
“He said to just slow down and stay back, to get my arm on top of the curve ball and that was good enough for me.”
In the first half of the first, it appeared as if the Bruins were poised for an April Fools’ Day repeat of the 7-6 win over the Spartans (4-3, 2-0) on March 19.
The first three Bruin runners reached base via two Kent walks and a double by senior shortstop Brenden Daley, but the threat subsided momentarily when Kent forced a 1-2-3 double play.
However, with outs and two runners in scoring position, junior center fielder Shannon Mark cleared the bases with a triple to put Lake Braddock ahead.
“They touched up Mike a little bit in the first inning, but we had confidence that he was going to hold him to two,” West Springfield Coach John James said. “We just had to go to work with the sticks.
“We were confident he’d get settled in. Once he gets settled in, he’s pretty good.”
The teams meet again at Lake Braddock on April 23.
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
R H E
No. 2 Lake Braddock 2 0 0 000 0 2 4 2
No. 8 West Springfield 0 2 3 001 X 6 9 0
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