Decatur baseball survives scare against Lions

For the NPSL leaders, no games come easy. That’s a lesson that Decatur High School baseball team manager Chris Fox deployed on his group after they escaped Auburn Mountainview with a 4-3 win on April 28.

“I told the boys this was a trap game. I pulled them aside at warmups and said we are going to get our butts kicked if we don’t pick it up,” Fox said.

The Gators’ record now sits at 14-1, the most wins a Decatur program has had since making the final four back in 2015 (15 wins).

In game one of the series against Auburn Mountainview, the Gators put up six runs in the first and scored two in the next six innings. In game two, there was a different vibe to the game — it was a colder, bleak afternoon. Despite being the home team, the game was at Auburn Mountainview.

“I think we kept our composure throughout the game and we got down early, we came in with low energy. It showed our mental toughness and ability to stay in the game. It definitely wasn’t our sharpest, but we got the job done and that’s what good teams do,” Decatur senior Spencer Holloway said.

It was a slow start to the game for Decatur, and Auburn Mountainview struck first with a pair of early runs in the second and third. Landon Le took the ball for Fox for just the fifth time all season.

“What I saw from him was a lack of control for him today. I want to see more control… He’s big moving forward. We need him to eat up some innings. We’ll talk to him and encourage him and get him back in the fold,” Fox said.

He wanted to see Le take a step forward and be the third option for the Gators on the mound after the Buol brothers.

“It was a learning experience for him. He’s been lacking a little in confidence and we just want to build that up,” Fox said.

The spark for the Gators on offense came from the same player who brought the spark for Decatur football, Spencer Holloway. The senior shortstop lined a ball to right centerfield and wound up on third base after a two out double in the third inning.

“He’s been hitting the ball hard and been getting robbed a lot, so his average doesn’t really show it. He’s a senior, he’s smart and knows exactly what to do,” Fox said.

For Holloway, the relief that came from hitting the triple is just as rewarding as running in a game winning touchdown.

“It felt great. Friday night, I was 1-for-4, but put the ball in play. I feel like I’ve been seeing and hitting the ball well just right at people. It finally fell and it felt great to help the boys out,” Holloway said.

If not for that hit, this game might not have ever turned in favor of Decatur. There was a sense of frustration building in the dugout and the triple cooled the jets of Decatur players. A big reason for the frustration was because of just how good Lions starter Jeremiah Weatherford was.

“It was tense in the dugout. There was a little bickering in the dugout, but it is good for us. These things will make us battle tested for playoffs. It’s okay and good for us to be behind. We just have to learn,” Fox said.

As Mountainview’s number two, Weatherford caused a lot of problems for Decatur. And for a team that has already faced a top arm in the state in Cooper Markham, Weatherford might be the best, according to Fox.

“He was great. I had never seen him before. He really tied our guys up on the right hand side. I thought he was phenomenal, one of the best pitchers we have seen all year,” Fox said.

The next two runs were scraped across for the Gators in the bottom of the fifth. Jacob Pech singled and Eric Havili snuck a double down the line to threaten the tie game. CJ Gatterson stepped up, and after a wild pitch, went to the backstop to score Pech. Gatterson singled up the middle to give Decatur a would-be important insurance run.

If not for Tyler Boul’s appearance out of the bullpen, this result might have been much different. The Decatur right-hander threw four innings in relief after throwing two-thirds on Friday. In his first three innings of work, he gave up just a single hit, and in the seventh, the Lions pulled one run back, but Buol was able to slam the door shut.

Buol came to Fox two years ago and wanted insight to get better. Fox gave him three things: take care of his body, eat right and get rid of his girlfriend. Much to the chagrin of young love, Buol listened to his skipper.

“He did all three, no kidding. His is the hardest working thing, it’s baseball, baseball, baseball. He is the most picky eater you’ve ever seen and takes care of his arm meticulously,” Fox said.

The Gators avoided the trap and snuck away a third consecutive win and now enter a two-game series against Federal Way on April 30 and May 1.