GREENWOOD — Mooresville pitcher Kooper Schmitt took the mound for Wednesday’s sectional opener against Franklin Central knowing he could put all three of his pitches anywhere he needed to.
Fastballs up, off-speed pitches in the dirt, sliders off the plate, everything Schmitt threw generated swings-and-misses from the Flashes, helping him rack up 14 strikeouts and leading Mooresville to a 2-0 victory.
The win sets up a sectional semifinal showdown against Class 4A No. 1 Center Grove (23-1) Saturday at 5 p.m.
“As soon as I woke up this morning, I knew I’d have everything,” Schmitt said. “The past couple weeks I’ve had everything and I’m confident in all my stuff. … Sliders, fastball, they couldn’t hit it.”
Schmitt struck out the side in the third inning. He struck out the side in order in the fourth and worked out of a jam with two runners on and nobody out in the fifth. With one out, Schmitt froze Lane Amstrong with a fastball inside. Schmitt went to his breaking ball for the next out, getting Brayden Mahoney to swing over the pitch, stranding the runners in scoring position with three strikeouts in a row.
Schmitt recorded five consecutive strikeouts twice. He needed 119 pitches to complete the shutout.
“He was great,” Mooresville coach Eric McGaha said. “Three-pitch mix with a fastball, breaking ball and slider. He competed in the zone and did everything we needed him to do. He got a little wild at times, but he was able to pitch around it.
“He was huge in the fifth (inning). (Runners on) second and third with no outs, he goes punchy, punchy, punchy. Huge deal.”
Tyler Denny started the game with a lead-off double and came around to score on a wild pitch. Schmitt hit a single in the third inning. Connor Cruz’s bunt single plated pinch-runner Cash Bauer for Mooreville’s second run of the game. Junior starter Andrew Jimenez struck out five and allowed six hits over 5⅓ innings.
Freshman shortstop Fletcher East had two hits for the Flashes.
With Schmitt going the distance, Mooresville (21-7-1) will have all its arms available against Center Grove. Alabama commit and top MLB Draft prospect Hudson DeVaughan has been out since April 28 with a minor back injury. He’ll throw a bullpen session Thursday. If it goes well, he’ll be the scheduled starter against Center Grove.
DeVaughan is currently slotted as the No. 108 prospect by Baseball America.
Gannon Grant the closer
Tennessee commit Gannon Grant had a little extra life on his fastball during Wednesday’s sectional opener against Decatur Central.
Grant is one of the top starters in the state, but he came out of the bullpen against the Hawks, looking to protect a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning. Coming in for a shorter stint allowed the senior to reach back and challenge hitters in the zone. Grant’s fastball reached 97 mph and the Hawks could not catch up.
Grant struck on the side on 12 pitches in the sixth. Tristan Yerman hit a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning. Joel Tracy followed with a solo homer, putting the Trojans up 6-1. Grant returned in the bottom of the seventh, notching his fourth strikeout in a row. He issued a walk and a single before he was lifted. Kase McEnulty recorded the final two outs to seal the 6-2 win. Hayden Poeppelman entered for starter Eric McAtee in second, throwing four scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
“We got (Grant) out (in the seventh inning), he was gassed,” Center Grove coach Keith Hatfield said of Grant. “… When we got high, we got really pumped up. … We’ve got to do a better job of controlling our emotions and we’ll be fine.”
Drew Dalton’s RBI double put Decatur Central up 1-0 in the first. Center Grove has not spent much time trailing this season, but Hatfield implored his team to stay patient and to not do too much. Decatur Central starter Brayden Smith started the game strong, striking out two in the first. Reed Sawa’s two-RBI single in the second put the Trojans up for good. Yerman finished 2-for-2 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Sawa went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
“Credit to Smith, I knew he was going to give us fits,” Hatfield said. “We went 1-0 in the first inning, I knew it was going to be tough coming back from that because all the momentum was theirs.
“That didn’t surprise me. We just kept preaching, “Don’t get out of your approach.’ Don’t be a different team because we’re down 1-0 in a sectional.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Mooresville’s Schmitt throws sectional shutout, sets up showdown with No. 1 Center Grove
Reporting by Akeem Glaspie, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
