Story courtesy The Dispatch, http://www.the-dispatch.com
TYRO — West Davidson’s Noah Sharpe is a hardly an imposing figure on the mound and his fastball travels about 70 mph as it approaches the plate.
Maybe.
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But the other team has to hit it and Polk County mostly didn’t on Tuesday.
Sharpe, a lanky junior right-hander, threw a crafty two-hitter that amazingly required just 54 pitches as the Green Dragons, seeded No. 2 in the West, beat No. 31 Polk County 2-0 in the first round of the 2A state playoffs at Feezor Field.
“It wouldn’t be a two-hitter without my fielders,” Sharpe said. “I’m not a really fast pitcher. It wouldn’t be possible without my defense.”
Sharpe (6-2) struck out two and walked none. He was throwing 68-70 mph, according to West pitching coach Jason Lemley. Sharpe was remarkably consistent, never throwing more than nine pitches in one inning.
West head coach Jerry Walser loved every bit of it.
“Very efficient,” Walser said. “That’s what you get with Noah. The velocity, and I’ve said this every time when Noah pitches, velocity is very overrated. He can hit his spots. He’s very economical with his pitches. That wins.”
And loses for the other team.
“He kept us off balance,” said Polk County coach Ty Stott, whose team finished the season with a 9-13 record. “It looked like he was working both sides of the plate. He did what he needed to do to pitch a shutout.”
The Dragons (20-2) will host the winner of Wednesday’s Providence Grove/West Stokes game in the second round later in the week.
Polk’s hitters were aggressive right from the start when Sharpe retired the Wolverines in order on six pitches. Sharpe, who had a no-hitter through five innings, recorded nine first-pitch outs for the game and went to a two-ball count only once.
“They’ve been struggling all year offensively, according to their coach, so they were trying to be aggressive,” Walser said. “That’s the right approach when you’re a 31 seed. You’re not going to hit it if you don’t swing.”
It also played right into Sharpe’s approach for the game.
“My game plan was to throw strikes and let my defense help me,” Sharpe said. “That’s all.”
Polk pitcher Daniel Painter wasn’t that bad, throwing a five-hitter with five strikeouts and retiring the last eight batters he faced.
The Dragons used their own aggressive small ball approach in the bottom of the second inning to score the game’s only two runs. Jacob Gobble legged out an infield single and promptly stole second. Cason Fowler then drew a walk. Painter was then called for a balk, allowing Gobble and courtesy runner Derrick Hardin to advance to second and third. Chance Fortenberry lined out but Painter uncorked a wild pitch as Gobble raced home and Hardin moved to third. Moments later, Hardin scored on another wild pitch to make it 2-0.
That turned out to be more than enough for Sharpe, who faced one batter over the minimum through five innings.
Things almost got too interesting for the Dragons in the top of the sixth when the Wolverines’ J.D. Edwards led off with a double over Fortenberry’s head in left field. Holden Owens followed with a routine grounder to shortstop Doulton Anderson. Edwards tried to take third on the play but was easily gunned down. The Wolverines didn’t have some kind of play on.
“No, just bad baserunning,” Stott said. “There’s no other way to say it. I’ve told them a million times. Maybe I should have told them a million and one times. If the ball is hit ahead of you, you don’t go. That’s common sense.”
It also proved to be costly for the Wolverines because Tyler Campbell followed with a single that bounced off third base. Sharpe got out of the jam by retiring Bryce Martin on a fly ball and inducing Mark Mazzilli to ground into a fielder’s choice.
The Wolverines went quietly in the seventh, ending a game that lasted just one hour and 21 minutes.
West twice got a runner at third with one out yet failed to score — in the third and fourth innings — but Walser expressed little concern.
“Over the years, I’ve found a lot of times the first one is the toughest one,” he said.
