Eli Hubbard's district championship run got off to a shaky start.
The senior right-hander threw a complete-game shutout to lead No. 2 Stockton past Ash Grove 3-0 in Wednesday's Class 3, District 12 championship; however, Hubbard nearly came unhinged early on.
Ash Grove loaded the bases in the top of the first, then the Pirates threatened again with three more runners in the second.
Thanks to some timely defense and a couple key strikeouts, Hubbard managed to escape both innings unharmed.
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Stockton head coach Darren Henderson helped Hubbard work on adjustments between innings.
"I thought [Hubbard] settled down in the third inning," Henderson said. "The first two he was living up in the zone, and we're not very successful when we throw belt-high fastballs. When he got down in the zone from the third inning on and hit his spots, we were able to make plays behind him. That's who he's been all year for us. We feel pretty comfortable with him on the mound."
In addition to Stockton's defensive efforts, Hubbard got some help in the bottom half from the Tiger bats.
Back-to-back singles from Garrett Burns and Cameron Ramsey set the table for the top of Stockton's batting order, and the opportunity wasn't wasted.
An Alex Wheeler sacrifice fly to center plated Burns, and then a two-out single from Colton Brown brought in Ramsey for a 2-0 Stockton lead.
Jacob Wheeler's single in the fifth scored Burns for his second run of the game and a 3-0 lead.
With Ash Grove pitcher Taylor Whitworth off to a hot start, Henderson stressed competing during each at-bat and doing whatever necessary to move runners.
"We did a good job competing at the plate," Henderson said. "We were able to make [Whitworth] throw us good pitches to hit, especially in that inning. It's a whole different ball game in the playoffs. You just have to find a way to win."
With the early roller-coaster ride behind him, Hubbard went to work on the mound and was dead, solid perfect over the game's final four innings. His complete-game shutout included six strikeouts, three hits and a lone walk.
Hubbard pointed to the third-inning turnaround as a key factor in his success.
"I knew I had to make an adjustment," Hubbard said. "I was living up in the zone, and I finally got it figured out and started working down, and it was all uphill from there. I was just trying to work ahead and use my cutter to get outs."
While Hubbard took care of business on the mound, Ramsey certainly did his fair share patrolling the outfield. The Stockton centerfielder recorded five straight outs during a late-inning stretch, including a beautiful layout dive to turn back an extra-base hit.
The senior outfielder didn't think twice once the ball left the bat.
"It was like a do-or-die play," Ramsey said. "Either make a dive or just let it hit the ground and have it turn into a double or something else. It seems like all season, you know, I haven't had too many balls, but I got plenty tonight."
A Tuesday rainout brought about a three-game set Wednesday, with both semi-final games preceding the evening's championship match.
Stockton survived a late Clever rally in the first game to win 4-3, while Ash Grove notched a late rally of its own to upset El Dorado Springs 6-3.
Next up for Stockton (23-3) is a May 23 sectional round clash with the D11 champion (Forsyth or No. 1 Conway).
Henderson and his team await the challenge.
"There are three great teams in that district," Henderson said. "Any one of those teams is going to be a handful, and we're going to have to be ready to play come Monday."
Stockton – 3, Ash Grove – 0
Ash Grove 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Stockton 0 0 2 0 1 0 x — 3
