Smith shines for P-15's

By DENNIS BRUNSON dennisb@theitem.com

COLUMBIA - From his perch in center field at Capital City Stadium, Sumter's J. Tyler Smith watched teammate and starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery go to field a bunt in the first inning of the P-15's championship game against Murrells Inlet in the American Legion baseball state tournament on Wednesday.

He saw Montgomery trip and go to the ground while trying to pick up the bunt, allowing the runner to reach. Smith kept waiting for Montgomery to get up, but then he saw him holding his knee.

"I thought he would be getting up," Smith said. "When he didn't, I then started to realize that was coming in to pitch."

And pitch he did. Smith came on in relief of Montgomery with two on and no outs and pitched the rest of the way, earning the victory in the P-15's 4-2 victory that clinched the state crown and earned them a berth in next week's Southeast Regional.

"I knew the plan was for Jordan to pitch seven (innings) and for me to be ready to pitch two," said Smith, who was named the tournament's most outstanding pitcher. "I ended up going nine."

And the biggest jam Smith had all day is what he inherited from Montgomery. Dalton Novia drew a leadoff walk and Nick Hotzelt reached on a single when Montgomery injured his knee. Smith had about 10 minutes to warm up as Montgomery was helped off the field. Jason Tomlinson put down a sacrifice bunt that Smith went to field, but when he lifted his right arm to throw to first base, the ball was still on the ground, loading the bases with no outs.

When asked what he thought at that point, Smith didn't have an answer. He did have an answer to the jam though. He got cleanup hitter Robert Troiano to hit a ground ball back to him.

Smith threw to catcher Michael Blackmon for the first at home plate, and Blackmon threw on to first to complete the double play.

Even thought Hotzelt scored on a wild pitch a couple of pitches later, Sumter got out of the inning with just one run scoring.

"I was just trying to do whatever I could to get out of the inning," said Smith, who ended up working recording all 27 outs, but didn't get credit for a complete game since he wasn't the starter. "When he hit it back to me, I was just ready to make a good throw and turn the double play.

"Since it was only a 4-2 game, that was definitely a play that could have turned the game," Smith said. "It certainly helped build my confidence."

Smith scattered seven hits while striking out five and walking three and allowing just one run.

The only other run Smith allowed came in the fifth inning when right fielder Jeremy Buckner broke in on a line drive off the bat of Tomlinson and let it go over his head for a double that scored Novia from first to make it 2-2.

Murrells Inlet threatened to take the lead in the top of the seventh after Colby Crooks led off with a single and was on second with two outs when Tomlinson lined a one-hop single to right. Buckner caught the ball and threw a strike to home, causing Crooks to be held at third.

Smith got Troiano to pop it back up over the mound, and Smith caught the ball and then gave a glare to the Murrells Inlet bench.

"About the seventh I felt like I might have been running down," Smith said. "They were running their mouths and that's why I looked toward their dugout. think that may have gave me some more energy."

Smith, who drove in the winning run with an outfielder fielder's choice in the bottom of the inning, retired the side in order in the eighth and set down the first two batters in the ninth. He gave up two hits before retiring Tomlinson on a ground out to pick up his second victory.

Smith was pitching on three days rest and was over 100 pitches entering the ninth, but Sumter head coach Wallie Jones had pretty much decided to stick with him.

"We would have taken him out if he would have walked a batter in a bad way, but not like on a 3-2 pitch," Jones said. "Tyler said he felt good and he was ready to pitch at the end."

Maturity, experience helped P-15's win title

Patrick Enzor / The Item Sumter third baseman Patrick Gordon throws to first baseman Zach Sherrill for the last out of the American Legion baseball state championship game against Murrells Inlet.

By DENNIS BRUNSON dennisb@theitem.com

COLUMBIA - When the Sumter P-15's won the American Legion baseball state tournament in 2008 on the way to both the Southeast Regional and American Legion World Series played in Shelby, N.C., both Bruce Caldwell and Michael Blackmon were starters on that team.

With a team that included the likes of Matt Talley, Travis Witherspoon, Matt Price, Tyler Christman, Tony Micklon and Quentrell Nelson, Caldwell and Blackmon were key parts, but not leaders.

After Wednesday's 4-2 victory over Murrells Inlet on Wednesday, the duo will be the leaders of a team on its way to the Southeast Regional in Columbia, Tenn., set to begin on Aug. 4.

"It feels good to be part of this and it shows that we're a really good team," said Caldwell, whose team improved to 31-3 after winning the deciding game in the state tournament at Capital City Stadium."We didn't know how far this team would go, but it was a goal to win this. The team really worked hard for it."

Caldwell was named the most valuable offensive player for the tournament, going 7-for-20 with two doubles, a triple and a home run while driving in six runs scoring three times.

While the P-15's played in the regional last season, it was because they were hosting the event. Sumter went 0-2 in last year's state tournament in Spartanburg.

Blackmon, who was 8-for-20 in the tournament, said the year of maturity helped a lot.

"This feels a little bit different because we had so many great, great players (on the '08 team)," Blackmon said. "Me and Bruce are the leaders on this team and for us to win the tournament is a great feeling.

"Last year, we were a young team and an inexperienced team," he said. "I think that's the biggest difference from last year to this year. We're a more experienced team."

Second baseman Cam Martin is one of those players who benefitted from last year's experience. Martin was sidelined with an injury last year and struggled throughout the postseason, both offensively and defensively.

That wasn't the case in these five games. Martin went 7-for-15 with four runs, two RBI and three sacrifice bunts. Defensively, he had 30 chances, was part of four double plays and committed just one error, that coming when he tried to make an off-balance throw to try and turn a double play after snagging a line drive.

Martin said winning the state is something that will bind the players together for the rest of their lives.

"This is just something that we'll always share," he said. "When we're 40 years old, some 20 years from now, this is something that we'll still talk about and share. This is one of those things that doesn't go away."

Infielder Zach Sherrill played a huge role in Sumter's offensive success in the tournament. He went 9-for-18, drove in four and scored six runs, including the winning run on Wednesday.

"I've never felt like this before," said Sherrill, who was on last year's team, but was sidelined with an injury. "This is just a great feeling. I played for one (state title) in football (at Wilson Hall), but we got beat. This is great.

"I was just trying to do what I could do to help the team when I had my chances," he said of his hitting. "I just wanted to make sure I put the ball in play and not strike out."