Hornets trump Pride

GREENVILLE – Alex Fisher grinned from the pitcher’s mound into the Wilson Memorial dugout after his 4-2 victory over Riverheads on Friday afternoon.
He passed by his teammates and shared high-fives and cheers. The senior did not have to explain what his reasons were — but his stats did. He threw one-hit ball until the sixth inning and struck 10 before he packed his bags to go home.
“I just wanted to keep calm and get a victory for us,” Fisher said.
Coach Derek McDaniel said his pitcher was right on the nose with his pitches and his composure.
“His slider was the pitch today, and when you see kid swinging at pitches in the dirt … to the batter it looks like a fastball until it freezes you,” McDaniel said.
His fastball impressed the skipper, too.
“He had pretty good giddy-up on his fastball,” McDaniel said. “I think he had good composure and command of the game.”
It was a pitchers’ duel between Fisher and Riverheads’ Miles Wood, who pitched a two- hit ball game until the top of the sixth.
It was the fourth inning that gave him fits when he balked and a controversial call at third base ruffled the starter.
“After the call at third base and the balk we took advantage of it said.” McDaniel said. “But when D.J. [Curry] hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth, that was great. We got the hits when we needed them tonight, it was big win for us.”
Curry could not have been more thrilled about the hit that gave Wilson 4-1 lead in a tight game.
“It was just there and I was able to get what I wanted,” he said.
There was a moment when it looked like the Wilson lead was going to vaporize in the bottom of the seventh. Fisher started the inning by hitting a batter and issuing his first walk of the game. The Gladiators scored a run to make it 4-2, but Fisher just fidgeted with his ball cap and grinned. Fisher stayed cool and picked up the win.
“I try to keep a good attitude and I try not to get to down on myself,” Fisher said. “It was a great win for us and our team needed the boost,” Fisher said. “But I had a great defense behind me.”
The boost was needed for Wilson, which had fallen out of the Shenandoah District race with its 2-3 record.
“We were back on our heels and we followed through, that was a good sign for these kids,” McDaniel said. “I’m extremely pleased.”