MILL CREEK
On a very warm Good Friday, Jackson closed out spring break week with a 9-2 win over Shorecrest April 6 at Jackson High School.
Senior Mike Jeffrey overcame a shaky first inning to throw six strong innings for the Timberwolves.
Shorecrest’s Chad Morrison led off the first inning with a single, moved to second on a balk by Jeffrey, and later scored on a single by Willie Davies.
But after that Jeffrey shut the door on the Scots. He allowed only four hits, walked two, hit two batters and struck out five. The defense committed four errors, three while Jeffrey was in the game, but also turned three double plays.
“He wasn’t going for strikeouts he was going for groundballs, that’s exactly what he needs to do,” senior shortstop Chris Lynch said.
Meanwhile Jackson’s offense kicked into gear behind Jeffrey, scoring runs in each of the first five innings to build a 9-1 lead.
“It’s nice pitching behind them,” Jeffrey said. “They’re here every day and good hitters.”
Third baseman Rickey Kellogg doubled off Scots’ starter Bobby White to score Lynch in the bottom of the first to even the score.
First baseman Geoff Brown hit a White curveball for a single with two outs in the second, scoring Ryan Charawell and Mike Wishko, and giving Jackson the lead for good.
Lynch, who went 3-for-4 with three singles, two runs scored and a stolen base, knocked in Brown with a base hit to make the score 3-1.
“To get the sun, it’s really nice, but at the same time it drains you pretty quick, which is all the more important to come out here with more of a sense of urgency and not come out here lackadaisical like we did Wednesday (Jackson fell behind 2-0 to Mariner before winning 15-2),” said Lynch, a Washington signee, who got a water cooler shower after the game because it was his 18th birthday.
A sense of urgency is what the Timberwolves had against the Scots as they continued to manufacture runs.
Riley Lillibridge and Bryan Morse led off the fourth with walks and both scored. Lillibridge came home on a grounder to short by Wishko and Morse scored on a balk by White.
In the fourth, Lynch singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kellogg. Mike Robertson, who went 3-for-4, singled and scored on a single by Lillibridge.
Jackson tacked on a run in the fifth when Morse walked and later scored on a fielder’s choice by lead-off man Danny Oh.
Shorecrest’s Morrison singled and scored in the top of the seventh after a single by Max Djenohan. Morrison scooted home from third on a throwing error by the shortstop Lynch.
As mid-season approaches, the ante will be upped for the defending Class 4A champs.
“Our challenges are going to be after this week,” Jackson head coach Kirk Nicholson said. “As we talked about they don’t hand out rings (this early).”
“We have a lot of work to get done,” he said.
Jackson lacks the depth and experience that last year’s team, the preseason favorite to win the state 4A title, had.
“We have some guys who haven’t played at the varsity level,” Nicholson said.
Notes…Shorecrest lost its ace pitcher and one of its best hitters, sophomore James Robbins, to a broken arm.
Robbins, a left-hander, suffered a hairline fracture of his forearm after he hit a metal pole in frustration after a recent loss.
Robbins is in a cast and will be out four weeks. He said he hopes to be back for the 3A District 1 playoffs in early May.
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