No heroics or late rallies were needed by the Llano High School baseball team in a 16-0 thumping of Florence March 31.
The Yellow Jackets simply showed its might in plating three runs in the first inning, one in the second, seven in the third, and five in the fourth to end the game in four-and-a-half innings.
Junior starting pitcher Austin Humphries got the win by allowing only one hit with two walks and five strikeouts.
"Austin came out with an edge, and I thought he pitched five great innings," head coach Todd Doucet said. "That's what we expect from our junior ace every time he goes out there. He threw strikes (with his fastball), he threw his curveball for strikes. And we're real proud of the way he pitched in winning a big district game like that."
What makes Humphries so difficult to hit against is that he looks to get into rhythm quickly. There's not much time between pitches, and he aims to be efficient and fast while not rushing through his mechanics and technique. To illustrate Humphries' efficiency, consider this. He was the Jacket's lone pitcher and threw only 60 pitches.
"It's all about the pitcher's attitude when he goes out there," Doucet said. "And if he can go out there quickly and get us back in and (we) score some runs, then we have a chance to win district games."
As for the defense, one play early in the game says a lot about the Jackets. It happened in the top of the first inning when Florence thought it had scored a run on a hit. But the Jackets recognized the umpire didn't signal to score the run. They got the ball to senior shortstop Colton Bailey, who touched the bag for the out. The base runner didn't stay on the bag long enough for the defense to catch the flyball for the out before leaving.
"Their lead-off guy didn't tag up," Doucet said. "We saw it. Unfortunately, the umpire saw it. Bailey knew to step on the bag, and the umpire was watching that. I thought it was a big play at the time."
With Florence not getting the run, the game was tied at 0-0. But not for long.
By the end, junior Will Morris had three RBI, while Bailey and Humphries had two apiece, and seniors Carter Bickett, Carl Schutte and Logan Van Pelt and sophomore Cash Lynch each had one. Of the Jackets' 14 hits, only two were doubles by Bickett and Morris.
"We went in and scored a few runs," Doucet said. "If you get ahead, everybody starts relaxing and then everybody wants to get on and get in on the action. The bottom of our lineup did a great job of just putting the ball in play. Our kids did some really good two-strike hitting. I was real proud."
That hot defensive start in the first inning just kept getting hotter throughout the contest, the coach said.
"Let Austin take a deep breath," he said. "Our philosophy is if we get ahead, we're going to try to tack on runs. We played Llano baseball. Austin Humphries was outstanding. He threw hard and if he can throw his little curveball for a strike, he is a tough pitcher. That's how you want your ace to go out and pitch."
Llano lost to Blanco 12-2 March 29.
The Jackets travel to Florence Friday, April 4, and to Ingram Monday, April 7. Both contests begin at 7:00 p.m.
