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Harder, Hinton splendid on Senior Day, Tigers tame Smith-Cotton in extras, 3-2
The senior duo of Braeden Hinton and Branden Harder were magnificent on the mound Friday evening, holding Smith-Cotton High School’s powerful lineup in check en route to a 3-2 extra inning, home-finale triumph.
Hinton tossed five strong innings, and Harder three in relief, as the Tigers improved to 10-8 overall and 7-4 in the West Central Conference. Smith-Cotton entered the night as the top dog in the WCC at 9-1 overall.
“I’m happy for the seniors,” said elated Nevada High School head coach Danny Penn. “Having played them for four years and not beaten them, getting a victory over Smith-Cotton on Senior Day is special. Seeing the seniors get a victory like this is very gratifying.”
The contest was a pitcher’s duel, as Hinton and Smith-Cotton starter Hayden Ellis put zeroes on the scoreboard.
Smith-Cotton broke through in the fifth, with Clayton Meyer’s two-out, two-RBI double to deep center field handing the guests a 2-0 lead.
After cruising through four innings, Ellis opened the fifth with a leadoff walk to Nevada center fielder Dalton Gayman. Gayman was plated on Trent Ellis’ fielder’s choice groundout, slicing the deficit to a run.
After striking out 10 over five innings of work, Hinton was replaced by Harder. The soon-to-be West Point Military Academy student stranded a runner at third, concluding the frame with back-to-back called third-strikes.
With one out in the sixth, Hinton touched up Smith-Cotton reliever Nathan Brock. The Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College commit cracked a double to left field, plating Harder from first to knot the contest 2-2.
With two outs in the seventh a routine fly ball dropped between several Nevada players in shallow left field, putting runners on the corners. Harder, however, showed his senior poise, escaping the jam by inducing Brandon Neale to fly out to center.
“I was proud of Branden’s resilience in the seventh,” said Penn. “We had a chance to get out of the inning with the pop up to shallow left field, and we just had our three fielders all stare at each other, no one called and took charge.”
Continued Penn, “That could have been big; that could have broken the game wide-open. And that’s why I made sure to talk to Branden after that play, because he may have still been wound up. But when I got out there he was calm, and ready to move on to the next batter. That speaks to his maturity, and how much of a baseball player he is.”
Said Harder, “I was able to mix up pitches and speeds pretty well. I had a curveball working, and a good two-seamer that was running in on righties, and away from lefties.”
Looking for the walk-off victory in the home-half of the seventh, Brock quieted Nevada’s bats, setting down the side in order and sending the contest to extra innings.
Returning for the eighth Harder breezed through the frame, retiring the side in order. Hinton, who had been moved to third base, made two of the three outs, flashing excellent leather at the hot corner.
In the bottom of the eighth, and back at the top of Nevada’s order, senior Logan Armstrong drew a leadoff walk issued by hard-throwing relief pitcher Kyler Simoncic. Armstrong was moved to second via senior Jarrett Owen’s sacrifice bunt.
After collecting a strikeout for the inning’s second out, Smith-Cotton elected to intentionally walk Hinton and pitch to junior Peyton Denney.
Denney, a southpaw, laced an opposite field walk-off RBI single down the left field line, scoring Armstrong from second and sending the Lyons Stadium home faithful into a frenzy.
“We needed to play solid baseball to beat them, and we did,” said Penn. “Pitching and defense, it’s boring, but in high school baseball it will keep you in games. And it kept us in this one long enough to scratch across that third run.”
Added Penn, “I’m also proud of Peyton Denney’s resilience. He had gone 0-for-3 with three K’s to that point in the game. It would have been really easy for him to go up there with no confidence. But he went up there with a plan, he was going to try to hit the ball to the left side. He got a pitch middle-away and did exactly that. I’m happy for him, just from a confidence standpoint, that he was able to execute a plan like that, and come through big for his teammates. That was big.”
Penn touched upon the intentional walk to get to Denney. Hinton leads the team in nearly all major hitting categories, except for home runs.
“Walking Braeden was the correct baseball play in that situation,” summed up Penn. “But as a former player, whenever a team intentionally walks somebody to get to you, you take that personally. So I’m sure that made it even sweeter for Peyton, to be able to come through like that.”
Penn said he was impressed with Hinton’s ability to work out of several jams unscathed. “He did a great job of minimizing those guys who were on base.”
Said Hinton, “You couldn’t have asked for a more action-packed final home game. It’s bittersweet, because you know you’re moving on to the future, and obviously excited for that. But I’ve spent the last four years at this field, and I still remember my first (varsity) at-bat as a freshman, a single in between first and second. It’s just crazy how fast time has flown by, and crazy how fast this year has flown by.”
Hinton said he was amped for the home finale.
“With the arm feeling good today, the fastball had a few extra miles per hour on it, and I was able to effectively work my curveball in, with that little extra velocity I had on my fastball.”
Harder added that he was thrilled to break through against Smith-Cotton on Senior Night.
“It was awesome to get that win, especially on Senior Night, with all of us who have played together for so long. Four or five starting seniors who have played all four years, and it’s just a great feeling.”
Harder said he formulated his strategy based on what he observed while Hinton was on the mound.
“Braeden was throwing hard,” noted Harder. “They were sitting on fastball, so I knew if I mixed up speeds on them a little bit, had a fastball that was moving in-and-out, that they wouldn’t be ready for it. That was my goal going in, and it paid off. “
Said Armstrong of his key eighth inning leadoff walk, “I was just looking to get on base, so someone could move me over, and I could hopefully score.”
Armstrong said he will remember this game for a long time to come.
“This is definitely the most memorable, it’s at the top of my list.”
Up next
The Tigers conclude their regular-season slate with a pair of road contests next week.
Nevada squares off on Tuesday with West Central Conference foe St. Michael’s Catholic High School in Independence.
The Tigers regular-season finale is slated for Wednesday, and a non-conference clash with the Pittsburg (Kan.) Purple Dragons.
See a future edition of the Daily Mail for all the latest on Nevada Tiger baseball