Baseball: Judge coach's gamble pays off
Credit Jeff Myaer, the Judge Memorial baseball coach, for having guts, because his neck was definitely on the line with this one.
Conventional wisdom dictated that Myaer throw Joe Pond against Canyon View on Thursday because Pond is one of the best pitchers in the state and he's the ace of the Bulldogs' staff.
But it wasn't Pond that took the mound. It was junior Keenyn Walker, who had just four starts this season under his belt during the regular season. Had things gone bad for Judge, Myaer would've taken a beating. Instead, he looks like a genius because Walker tossed a two-hitter, came close to throwing a no-hitter, and struck out 12 in leading the Bulldogs to a 3-2 win. Now Judge is set up beautifully for the rest of the tournament with its best pitchers available.
"I knew that I could've been second-guessed on this one," Myaer said. "But truthfully, this was a good problem to have. Keenyn would be a No. 1 on a number of staffs around the state. And truthfully, he's right there with my other pitchers. He's No. 3, but he's really good."
It was impressive that Walker threw so well. It was more impressive that he did it against Mike Dedrick, the Canyon View ace who proved his greatness with 15 strikeouts. Those two, plain and simple, put on a show, and it was no doubt that neither deserved to lose.
Now Judge has everything going its way. The Bulldogs are in the winners bracket, and they have their two best hurlers going Friday and Saturday should they advance that far.
And it's mostly because Myaer had the guts to go against the grain.
-- Tony Jones
Conventional wisdom dictated that Myaer throw Joe Pond against Canyon View on Thursday because Pond is one of the best pitchers in the state and he's the ace of the Bulldogs' staff.
But it wasn't Pond that took the mound. It was junior Keenyn Walker, who had just four starts this season under his belt during the regular season. Had things gone bad for Judge, Myaer would've taken a beating. Instead, he looks like a genius because Walker tossed a two-hitter, came close to throwing a no-hitter, and struck out 12 in leading the Bulldogs to a 3-2 win. Now Judge is set up beautifully for the rest of the tournament with its best pitchers available.
"I knew that I could've been second-guessed on this one," Myaer said. "But truthfully, this was a good problem to have. Keenyn would be a No. 1 on a number of staffs around the state. And truthfully, he's right there with my other pitchers. He's No. 3, but he's really good."
It was impressive that Walker threw so well. It was more impressive that he did it against Mike Dedrick, the Canyon View ace who proved his greatness with 15 strikeouts. Those two, plain and simple, put on a show, and it was no doubt that neither deserved to lose.
Now Judge has everything going its way. The Bulldogs are in the winners bracket, and they have their two best hurlers going Friday and Saturday should they advance that far.
And it's mostly because Myaer had the guts to go against the grain.
-- Tony Jones
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