At least the decision was an easy one for Clayton Parker. The Boyd-Buchanan senior pitcher had struggled most of the game to put his curveball where he wanted it, so with the District 5-A championship on the line Tuesday, the right-hander went with old reliable.
Parker’s 3-2 fastball struck out Silverdale Baptist’s Josh Bankston with the tying run on third base and one out in the seventh inning, and when Parker induced Chase Turner to ground out, the Buccaneers celebrated the 2-1 victory and 5-A title that went with it.
“I was spotting my fastball all game, so it was fastball all the way there,” said Parker, who improved to 5-2 for the Bucs (23-8), who will host District 6-A runner-up Whitwell next Monday in an elimination region game. “It was a little nerve-racking out there, and I had to focus on every pitch and every hitter.”
Silverdale’s Spencer Mossburg limited the Bucs to three hits and struck out 10. In the fourth inning, however, Mossburg had control issues and it cost him a 1-0 lead. A walk, a hit batter and Austin Bailey’s bloop single to center tied the game, and after another walk that loaded the bases, Colter Parker’s fielder’s choice plated what would be the winning run.
“It was just a great ballgame,” Boyd-Buchanan pitching coach Clay Parker said. “Spencer Mossburg is one of the best pitchers in the area, and fortunately Clayton was able to hold them to one run. Spencer pitched a masterful game today, but Clayton was one run better. We scored a couple when we had to, and I felt that was the way the game was going to have to be won.”