Before this season Bradley Central’s Colton Cross had not pitched since the eighth grade.
Now, the senior right-hander has found his niche as a reliever with the Bears’ baseball team. That's in addition to being the Bears' starting second baseman.
Cross entered Tuesday’s District 5-3A game against Ooltewah in the seventh with Bradley nursing a shaky one-run lead.
Cross gave up a leadoff hit and had the potential game-tying run at third and first with one out after an infield error and two Ooltewah fielder’s choices.
No big deal.
The side-armed senior, whose pitches tend to result in ground balls, got Sam Zettel to hit a hard grounder to shortstop and the Bears turned their third double play of the game and nailed down a 3-2 victory at A.C. “Bud” Ball Field.
“Back in December or January I was messing around in the bullpen and the coaches saw me pitching,” Cross said. “They started talking to me about maybe pitching.”
Fast forward to mid-March at a Playing for the Cure tournament in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
“I came in and gave up nothing but ground balls,” Cross recalled. “That was my first chance. The next Monday I came in late and threw against Walker Valley in a district game and did the same thing the next day against Walker Valley.”
He’s certain his side-arm delivery can work to his advantage as the season progresses.
“It’s a little more than three-quarters,” he said. “And I can throw it over the top too, but I’m definitely more effective throwing the ball underneath. I saw a kid from Baylor throwing like that last year and I just decided to try it.”
On Tuesday, Cross, who has an ice-in-the-veins mentality of needed by relievers, was back on the hot seat in a tight ballgame with the outcome uncertain.
“He’s a senior and wants to be out there battling,” Adams said. “He’s a real competitive kid.”
Ooltewah pinch-hitter Ethan Walls led off with an infield hit.
Jake Sullivan hit into a fielder’s choice and Zach Wolfe, running for Walls, was safe at second when a throw hit him in the back. Andrew Manning’s infield grounder forced Sullivan at second and Wolfe moved to third.
Zettel, who lined into a double play in the third, hit a hard grounder to short and the Bears turned a flawless double play to notch their 10th win against two losses. They improved to 3-1 in the district.
“You’ll notice Colton is a sinkerballer and teams beat the ball into the ground and we’re going to catch it,” Adams said. “That will get you a double-play ball that ends ballgames. The ball was hit hard, it was right at somebody and you can’t outrun that.”
Much like a deadly 3-point shooter in basketball, Cross was confident of the outcome when Zettel hit the ball on the ground.
“I knew it was game over,” he said. “I knew my middle infielders would back me up.”
Both teams return to district play on Wednesday, making up games that were postponed earlier.
The Bears will host McMinn County at 5 p.m. and the Owls (10-2, 3-1) entertain Cleveland at 7 p.m.
Bradley starter Logan Newberry (2-0) scattered six hits and struck out four and pitched out of scoring threats in the first, second, third and fifth innings as he kept putting zeroes on the Owls’ portion of the outfield scoreboard.
“Logan continuously battles in the strike zone,” Adams said. “He doesn’t walk many hit many and makes (the opposing team) earn it. And he’s got a good defense behind him too. Any time somebody starts a game and gives us a chance to win they’ve done their job, and Logan did that today.”
Newberry kept the Owls scoreless for five innings, but didn’t feel like he was working with his best stuff.
“The fastball and curve were working pretty well, but at times I rushed things and wasn’t thinking,” he said. “In the sixth when they scored twice, I just had to get the job done and get out of the inning.
“Colton did an absolutely great job in the seventh.”
The Bears got to Ooltewah’s Daniel Willie, who struck out 12, for a run in the third when Byron Mantooth singled and later scored on Dylan Standifer’s double into the left-field corner.
Bradley added two more runs in the fourth.
Riley Black doubled and Pete Williams’ single pushed Black to third. Williams stole second and Jake Pressley’s sacrifice fly scored Black with the game’s first run. Williams went to third.
Mantooth’s single to center scored Williams.
“I felt a little pressure to keep Bradley from scoring any more runs because I had faith that our offense could come back,” said Willie, who beat Cleveland 3-1 last week with a four-hit effort that included nine strikeouts by using a good fastball and a wicked curve to keep the Blue Raiders guessing.
Those same two pitches were working against the Bears, but a stretch in the middle innings saw Willie get away from curve.
“I think something mechanically was off a little bit,” he said. “But it definitely came back.”
Willie gave up five hits and all three Bradley runs while walking one in another solid effort.
“He kept us in the game,” Owls coach Brian Hitchcox said, “and pitched good enough to win. Bradley had a few opportunities and cashed in on them. We had a bunch of chances and didn’t get the timely hits when we needed them. The margin for error is really slim against a good team like Bradley.
“Tonight they made plays, we hit some balls right at them and that’s the way it goes. We gave ourselves a chance to win and that’s all you can ask.”
BOXSCORE
Bradley Central 001 200 0 – 3 5 1
Ooltewah 000 002 0 – 2 7 0
Newberry, Cross (6) and Mantooth; Willie, Newman (7) and Huskin.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)