LEXINGTON — The reigning Ohio Cardinal Conference champion isn’t ready to relinquish its crown without a fight.
Defending champ Lexington jumped on OCC front-runner Madison for four first-inning runs and cruised to an 8-1 win on a chilly and blustery Thursday afternoon.
The Minutemen (11-5, 7-2) ran their winning streak to seven in a row and pulled within a game of Madison (12-5, 8-1). The teams will conclude the home-and-home series Friday at Madison.
“Tonight was huge,” Lex starter Zach Temple said. “We went from hoping they lose to, if we beat them (Friday), we’re right there at the top with them. We’ve just got to keep playing our game.”
A 6-foot-4 senior, Temple was at the top of his game Thursday. The right-hander kept the Rams off balance with an assortment of off-speed pitches. He got ahead in the count and worked quickly, mixing an occasional fastball with a curve and change-up.
“I was throwing strikes early and it seemed like all of my stuff was working, so that was good,” Temple said. “Strike one is important to me. I’ve got to get on top to throw all my junk. I can’t go anywhere if I’m not on top.”
Temple surrendered just three hits and struck out seven. He gave up an unearned run in the fourth on a Zane Harris RBI single.
“He doesn’t throw real hard, but he’s a great pitcher,” Madison coach Doug Rickert said. “I don’t know if he’s got the best stuff, but he knows how to pitch.
“Our philosophy going in was to sit back and hit the stuff that was soft. But for some reason we just didn’t do a very good job. Maybe that’s being stuck in the gym for a few days. You just don’t see a whole lot of curve balls and change-ups in batting practice.”
The Minutemen gave Temple all the support he would need in the home half of the first inning. Brody Basilone delivered the knockout blow, belting a three-run home run to center on a 3-1 pitch from Madison starter Blake Lampert. The homer was Basilone’s first of the season.
“It was a fastball right down the middle,” Basilone said. “I wasn’t expecting anything too good.”
Basilone usually hits third in Lexington’s lineup, but Lexington coach Kevin Morrow switched him and everyday clean-up hitter Evan Lee to offer Lee more protection. The scheme worked to perfection as Lee belted a two-run home run in the second and Basilone stroked a two-run single in the fourth after Lee was intentionally walked to load the bases.
For the first time all season, Lampert had a rough start. The lefty was without his usual control — he hit Lex leadoff hitter Joey Vore with a pitch in the first and second innings in what Rickert called the biggest at bats of the game.
“We’ve got to get those outs at the top of the order,” Rickert said. “Then you don’t have to pitch to (Basilone and Lee). When you hit Vore and they get a bloop hit, all of a sudden you’ve got to pitch to those guys.
“Blake didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but that’s baseball. He’s been lights-out all year but tonight everything was up. He’s a senior and he’ll bounce back.”
Rickert wasn’t overly concerned about the psyche of his veteran-laden squad.
“We’ll come back tomorrow and play good baseball,” Rickert said. “Win or lose, we’re still in first place.
“You just regroup. In this league, there’s only been one team to go undefeated and that’s us (in 2006). That’s the only time it has ever been done, even when Clear Fork won a state championship (in 2010) we beat them. We’re playing a hot team. They are playing good baseball.”
