By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
If there’s one word to explain why Fair Grove baseball has won 11 straight games, it’s “depth.”
The senior-laden Eagles have a stacked pitching staff and quality bats up and down their lineup. That formula has carried them to an 11-2 start and state ranking (No. 9) in Class 3.
“You look at our lineup, all nine of us have the ability to get extra-base hits anytime we come up,” said Fair Grove pitcher and outfielder Nolen Geitz, one of eight seniors on this year’s team. “That’s not super common with high school baseball. There’s usually a few guys who are the weaker part of your lineup. But all season long, the bottom of our lineup has been coming up big and that’s been really helpful.”
Fair Grove notched its 11th win in a row on Friday afternoon, beating defending district champion Warsaw 7-3 at home. The Eagles erupted for five runs in the decisive fifth inning to keep their winning streak going.
“We know, one through nine, everyone can pick up each other’s slack,” said Fair Grove senior third baseman Kellan Kirkpatrick. “If one guy’s off, we know the next guy can get that hit, get that run, or bunt if they have to. We just know one through nine that everyone can do a job.”
Amid the winning streak, Fair Grove has optimized its pregame routine.
The varsity Eagles always gather in center field for some extra stretching and a breakdown, minus one player: sophomore outfielder and leadoff hitter Harrison Martin.
But last Tuesday, in Fair Grove’s epic 14-inning win at Forsyth, Martin went out for the team’s pregame huddle in center field with everyone else.
Martin hasn’t been invited back since.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“The one game he went out, we played 14 innings,” Geitz said. “That was not ideal. We told him to stay back the next time.”
Said Kirkpatrick: “Once we won that game, we were just like, ‘You (Martin) have to stay in. We have to keep it the same.”
If that’s what it takes to keep winning, the Eagles will oblige.
“It’s good to have a loose team. But then the great thing about having so many seniors is that they know when to focus and go play,” said Fair Grove coach William Reed. “Finding that balance of superstition – routine, uniform – it’s always something. Whatever they think works.”
On Friday, the Eagles took the lead (3-1) in the fifth on a pair of Warsaw errors and Gavin Thomason’s RBI double. Kirkpatrick then delivered the pivotal blow in the frame with a two-run double off Warsaw starting pitcher Josh Bunch that made it 5-1.
“I was just looking (for) first-pitch fastball,” Kirkpatrick said. “My first at-bat, I kind of had a little dribbler, like a swinging bunt. I saw that fastball and I knew I could hit it. I just looked opposite-field and hit that double.”
On the mound, Geitz held an explosive Warsaw lineup in check over five innings. He allowed four hits, one walk and struck out five.
Entering the game, Warsaw had scored 10 or more runs in all seven of its victories thus far.
“I was just trying to keep the ball low and change up my speed,” Geitz said. “Get grounders, get soft contact.”
Geitz is the No. 4 option in Fair Grove’s deep pitching rotation. Last season’s innings leader, Spensar Seiger, is No. 3.
Sophomore Gavin Thomason and senior Brock Boatwright are the top two options. The duo combined to throw all 14 innings in the 1-0 win over Forsyth.
“Our pitching is super deep, and that’s been really helpful,” Geitz said. “We have a lot of good pitching. Any guy can go long in a game, any given day for us.”
The Wildcats drew within 5-3 in the sixth on Logan Gemes’ RBI single. The Eagles tacked on two insurance runs in the bottom of the frame, including an RBI single by Thomason.
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF THE GAME
Kirkpatrick had the lone extra-base hit among Fair Grove’s seven hits in the game. Warsaw (7-3 overall) committed four errors.
Warsaw looks to bounce back on Monday afternoon at home against Buffalo.
Fair Grove continues a gauntlet stretch by hosting Licking on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles will play six games in eight days from April 8-15.
Over the next 1.5 months, the Eagles will try to cap a banner school year for Fair Grove sports with success of their own.
“They’re such a competitive group in all sports and it blends into this,” Reed said. “We talk about belief and believing in ourselves. Every time we step on the field, we believe we can win. We’ve been fortunate to do that in this stretch.”
