Weather abides, Porter dazzles in Warriors win

By Michael Petre -- sports@nvdaily.com

STEPHENS CITY -- Finally back on the field, in a game that actually yielded a result this time, Tre Porter and the rest of Sherando's baseball team didn't waste the opportunity.

The freshman struck out nine as Sherando used some timely hitting to post a 5-1 victory Tuesday against Northwestern District foe Central. Every Sherando rally was aided by Central mistakes, inconsistent play to be expected from teams that, because of steady rain, had not played a full game since late April.

"They took advantage of some missed opportunities that we had defensively," Central coach Donn Foltz said. "When [they're 11-3], you're gonna lose to them 5-1 if you don't take advantage of opportunities."

Porter certainly did. In just his second start, he baffled Central with a big breaking curveball and kept the Falcons honest with well-placed fastballs. Central (11-7, 8-7) managed just four hits, pushing across its lone run in the third inning on the strength of an infield single and a stolen base.

But that was pretty much all Porter allowed them, and he wrapped up the complete game in style: He struck out the side in the seventh, including a pair of Falcons looking.

"He was on," Sherando coach Pepper Martin said. "And when his breaking ball's working -- and it usually is -- it's nasty."

"The breaking ball on two strikes -- we were giving up on it real quick," said Foltz, whose Falcons were facing Porter for the first time. "We know not to do that, and we shouldn't do it."

It came at the right time. The Warriors (16-4, 12-3) are in the midst of a tricky stretch before the district tournament opens Friday. Monday's home game against James Wood, a matchup that could determine the district title, was postponed by rain after 2 1/2 innings. Martin said the plan -- subject to change -- was to continue the game this afternoon with the Warriors leading 3-0, citing the VHSL's reliance on National Federation of High Schools rules.

If that's not enough, the Warriors could meet Brentsville in a one-game playoff for the district title Thursday. That put the onus on Porter, and he didn't disappoint.

"I knew I needed to be big," he said. "I had to get the rotation on the end [of the curveball], and it worked pretty good tonight."

He contributed offensively, too, scoring the go-ahead run in Sherando's third-inning rally. After Erik Albers led off with a single, Porter followed with one of his own, and the runners advanced a base when Central center fielder Hoyle Laughlin misplayed the ball.

Two batters later, Blake Adams ripped a double just inside the left-field line to put the Warriors up 2-1. He advanced to third on an errant throw and scored on a balk by Alex Palmerton to make it 3-1.

"We got a break there," Martin said. "It was a nice hit by Blake, but that ball was fair by about six inches."

The breaks kept coming. In the fourth, the Warriors managed a run on a single, two wild pitches and a Chris Deck RBI groundout. Another came in the fifth on a walk and a single followed by an error and a wild pitch by reliever J.J. Armentrout.

In all, the Warriors managed just six hits but ended up stranding only four runners.

"We've been trying to put all phases of the game together," Martin said. "As far as base hits tonight, we didn't get that many. [But] we had a couple timely hits when we were able to get base runners on."