Bell's gem fuels James Wood's baseball win over Millbrook

By WALT MOODY | The Winchester Star

Apr 13, 2018

WINCHESTER — James Wood’s Jacob Bell is not going to win a contest for throwing the fastest pitch around these parts.

But on Thursday, Bell showed what you can do against a good team when you throw strikes and get a little help from your friends.

The junior right-hander tossed a three-hitter as the Colonels knocked off rival Millbrook 5-1 in a Class 4 Northwestern District clash at R. Charles Hott Field.

Bell pitched a gem in a well-played contest, lasting about 90 minutes on a sun-drenched, yet windy afternoon. Bell did not walk a batter and struck out three and was backed by error-free defense from the Colonels (4-5, 3-2 district).

Bell and catcher Colby Monroe figured out pretty quickly that the umpire was calling strikes on the outside part of the plate and Bell lived out there for the entire game.

“I was just locating pitches off the plate and getting them to chase the off-speed,” said Bell (1-1). “Colby Monroe did a great job of framing and setting up the pitches. In the first inning, we knew there were a couple where we could get the corner and it just worked from there on. It was just a mix of curveball, cutter and fastball the entire game and getting them to chase out of the zone.”

Bell’s pitching is one of the three things that James Wood coach Brent Lockhart is looking for each from his club. The other two are defense and timely hitting.

“Bell did an extremely good job,” Lockhart said. “He gave us a chance to win. He was able to throw all of his pitches for strikes in any count and he got ahead early. He’s not an overpowering pitcher but he went up there and threw strikes. He had no walks on the night which is exceptional. We played great defense. That’s all we can ask for our pitchers to do.

“You don’t need to throw hard. As long as you can keep the ball down low and throw more than one pitch for a strike, you can be successful.”

The best play made behind Bell was the first play.

Millbrook’s Alec Rudolph led off the game by blooping a ball into short right field. Tanner George hurtled in at full speed and made a sprawling, diving catch that was worthy of an extra star in the scorebook.

“Tanner made a great play on that,” Bell said. “That was like a SportsCenter Top 10 play of some sort.”

Lockhart said the impact of the defensive gem resounded through the rest of the contest.

“Tanner made a heck of a catch there in right field,” Lockhart said. “If that ball falls in, momentum probably swings another way and who knows what the outcome of the game would have been.”

Bell got all of the support he needed in the first inning thanks to some wildness from Millbrook starter Jalen Tyson and some timely two-out hits.

Tyson walked Monroe and Tylor McBride, the first two batters of the game. Brett Baker moved them both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Tyson got George on a foul pop-up, but Kevin Brown whacked an offering into left-center field for a two-run double. Trent Campbell followed with a grounder up the middle that shortstop John Rosa couldn’t handle for an RBI single to make it 3-0.

“The offense did its job by getting the runs in and it helps the pitcher’s confidence throughout the game,” Bell said.

Bell was perfect through three innings before Rudolph led off the fourth with an infield hit. Bailey Collins’ bunt down the third-base line not only moved Rudolph to second, but the alert baserunner moved to third when no one was there to cover after the out at first.

Rosa belted a single up the middle to cut the deficit to 3-1. Defense then helped Bell as Monroe cut down Rosa at second on a steal attempt.

The Pioneers’ lone other hit came from Luke Churchill, who singled to lead off the sixth. After an out, Churchill was erased on a 6-4-3 double play by shortstop Tyler Mounts, second baseman Aden Payne and first baseman Will Moore.

By that time, the Colonels had increased their lead to four runs. Monroe led off the fifth with a walk. McBride followed with a bunt between the mound and first and wound up with a single when first base was left uncovered. Baker couldn’t get down a bunt, but made up for it by driving an RBI single to left. George followed with a sacrifice fly that chased Tyson.

“Those are mental mistakes that you make in the field,” Millbrook coach Brian Burke said of the bunt play. “We’ve been struggling a little bit with control and we’re going to have to get better as a pitching staff if we’re going to go far.”

Bell closed out the contest by striking out two of the last three batters in the seventh, both looking on outside pitches.

“I don’t think we were very disciplined at the plate,” Burke said. “We made no adjustments. He was pitching to the outer third and he’s a crafty right-handed pitcher. We did a poor job of making adjustments at the plate. To come away with three hits, you’re not going to win too many ballgames no matter who the pitcher is on the mound.

“Jacob Bell did one heck of a job. He kept us off-balance. He didn’t overwhelm us with velocity, but we were trying to do too much against a pitcher who was crafty.”

Bell said it was important to stay ahead of the Pioneers (5-3, 2-1 district).

“It’s important because if you get the first-pitch strike, they’re thinking they have to defend the plate,” he said. “That gives them more of a chance to swing and miss. They’re sort of guessing on pitches once you get that first strike on them.”

James Wood had just four hits, but all came in the two innings in which the Colonels scored. They also took advantage of five walks during the game, with three of those baserunners scoring.

“I thought their pitchers did well and they played solid defense,” Lockhart said. “We just happened to have one more hit fall in than they did and that was pretty much the outcome of the game.”

With the triumph, the Colonels now own wins this season over both Sherando and Millbrook, who have dominated district play in recent years.

Bell said the triumph was big after coming off of losses against Warren County and Liberty.

“I think this is a real confidence-gainer,” he said. “I think we can move on and think we can beat anyone.”

— Contact Walt Moody at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Follow on Twitter @WinStarSports1