Shane Spencer pitches Basic past Liberty
Shane Spencer’s junior baseball season was limited to about 15 innings after a comebacker led to a fractured fibula.
The Basic right-hander looks like he’s fully recovered.
Spencer fired a two-hitter on Tuesday to lead the Wolves to a 5-1 road victory over Liberty.
“Missing last season killed me a lot,” Spencer said. “I had to redevelop again, get my fastball back. And coming out here this year, my senior year, feels great. The leg feels amazing.”
Spencer struck out two with three walks. The only Liberty run came home in the fifth inning after Spencer picked a Dylan San Nicholas off first. San Nicholas was able to stay in a rundown until Logan Coons was able to come home from third.
“He’s still working through some things,” Basic coach Scott Baker said. “His (velocity) looked a little up today, so I think that helped a lot with getting some key outs in some situations.”
The third-ranked Wolves (5-2, 1-0 Desert League) also played error free behind Spencer, turning a double play to get out of the sixth inning and getting a diving catch from right fielder Demetrius Vigil to end the third.
“Defensively, I thought we were really good,” Baker said. “With Spencer on the mound and us defensively sound, I think it’s hard to beat him, for sure.”
No. 7 Liberty (7-3, 0-1) wasn’t nearly as strong defensively. The Patriots committed three errors, leading to four unearned runs.
“That was the game,” Baker said. “I think if they play better, we might still be playing. I think it could be 1-1. They didn’t play great. We didn’t play great. But we did take advantage of some errors, which was the game.”
Zach Hose went 2-for-3 for Basic.
“It’s a good win for sure, but we didn’t play well,” Baker said. “We didn’t execute well, didn’t move runners. But first league game to get a win is a gigantic step, especially when you didn’t play well.”
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Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4597. Follow @DamonSeiters on Twitter.