Two Wheels tourney wins Thursday: Northwestern “can live with it”

The ball flew into the catcher’s mitt, the umpire groaned a third strike call and Rob Hughes punched his glove for punctuation.

Hughes’ sixth-inning display of excitement was about the emotional peak for Northwestern during Thursday’s Wheels Baseball Invitational doubleheader.

The Trojans beat Gaffney and Midland Valley to finish pool play 3-0 and advance to a Saturday semifinal. Starting pitchers Wesley Sweatt and Rob Hughes put Northwestern in position to win both games.

“They were both efficient,” said longtime Trojans coach Mitch Walters. “They were good. We can live with it.”

That was the general feel of Thursday’s baseball. Northwestern was far from perfect and maybe let inferior teams hang around too long, but still won both games.

The vibe was understandable. It’s Spring Break and bigger baseball is on the horizon with a Region 4-5A series against rival Rock Hill starting on Monday. Hughes’ celebratory glove-punch won’t be unusual in the games against the Bearcats.

“The whole thing is we’re getting ready for next week,” said Walters. “Everybody is playing, everybody has been in the games so far.”

The state’s new pitch-count limits are dictating Walters’ lineup decisions as much as anything.

“We’re just setting up our pitching for who’s throwing (next) Monday, who’s throwing Wednesday and who’s throwing Friday,” he said.

After John Gilreath threw a five-inning shutout to help Northwestern to a 10-0 win over Chester on Wednesday night, Sweatt took the ball Thursday afternoon and also threw five scoreless innings against Gaffney. The Trojans led 5-0 when Sweatt departed - thanks in part to a two-run Will Gardiner double - but quickly bled four runs as freshman reliever Dustin “Dirt” Noller coped with a tricky bases-loaded situation.

He got out of the sixth with Northwestern still in front 5-4, and Gardiner took the hill in the seventh. He seemed to go to a full-count against nearly every batter but got the job done with a fly ball and a strikeout to end the game. As Walters said, Northwestern could live with it.

Hughes was sharp in his start against Midland Valley and might have posted some juicy numbers were it not for a couple of defensive errors that led to runs for the visitors. Hughes opened the second game with a seven-pitch, 1-2-3 first inning, a tone-setting frame.

“I thought it was pretty efficient,” said the Furman commitment. “Go out there and try to throw strikes, keep the ball down and let my defense do what it does.”

Hughes allowed just four hits and threw the ball hard. Northwestern finally broke open a close game in the bottom of the sixth when USC-Upstate signee Jeff Taylor muscled a low pitch over the right field wall and Cameron Reeves later delivered an RBI single to make the final score, 6-3.

The Trojans entered the spring ranked No. 1 in the state and the pressure - from outside and within the program - is ever-present for a talented group. But it wasn’t easy to tell on a sun-baked Thursday, especially as Hughes tried to interview with a reporter while his teammates made silly faces from behind.

“It’s fun,” Hughes said of the Wheels action. “It’s not a break, but it’s more relaxing baseball. You’re still playing hard but it’s not as much pressure.”

Northwestern 5, Gaffney 4

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Northwestern;202;010;X;-;5;5;1

WP- Wesley Sweatt. Save- Will Gardiner; LP- Houston Wright

Leading hitters: Northwestern - Jordan Starkes 1-1, HBP, 2 BB, 2B, 3 R; Will Gardiner 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Andrew Shipman 1-1, 2B, BB, sac fly. Gaffney - Trent McDaniel 3-4.

Northwestern 6, Midland Valley 3

Midland Valley;010;011;0;-;3;4;4

Northwestern;010;113;X;-;6;10;2

WP- Rob Hughes; LP- Ethan Deer.

Leading hitters: Northwestern - Davis Goodyear 1-3, 2 RBI; Jeff Taylor 1-2, HR; Cameron Reeves 3-4, 2 RBI. Midland Valley - Brandon Paradise 2-3, RBI.

This story was originally published April 13, 2017 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Two Wheels tourney wins Thursday: Northwestern “can live with it”."