Battle Ground’s James Gill III once again had the right stuff on the mound for his second straight complete game pitching for the Tigers.
The Tigers beat Union High School in enemy territory, 5-1, on Thursday, May 1, after evening out the three-game series on home turf with a 7-3 win on Tuesday, April 29. In the 5-1 win, Gill hurled seven full innings in 94 pitches giving up just one earned run in the bottom of the seventh and striking out five while walking two. The Titans were held to just four hits, too.
Gill, despite a little bit of arm inflammation, said throwing his best stuff that he is able is going over well. His last start against the Skyview Storm on April 24 resulted in a complete game shutout with just three hits and eight strikeouts.
After the Titans scored in the seventh inning, they still had the bases loaded, with the tying run at the plate to make it interesting.
“They competed at the end,” Tigers head coach Seth Johnson said. “They brought the tying run to the plate and they got his pitch count up in a hurry there at the very end. They actually competed all game, they hit the ball to all fields. I was nervous there all the way to the very end."
Entering the sixth inning, Gill only had 54 pitches, his pitch count racked up to 94 over the next two innings.
The nervous end to the four-run win was a little easier for Johnson to coach with who he had on the mound.
“It feels better, obviously, when you have James, but if he runs out of pitches, then you don’t have James anymore,” Johnson said.
Battle Ground was up against a quality arm, as well, Johnson pointed out. But the Tigers were ready for it as they jumped out of the gate in the top of the first inning, with Cooper McGowan starting his three-hit day with a single to right field. Younger brother Collin McGowan followed suit with a single to left field. Then, to help his case on the mound, Gill jumped on a pitch for a double to the right-center gap, scoring the McGowan brothers.
It is known around the 4A Greater St. Helens League (GSHL) and the surrounding region that Gill, a junior for the Tigers and already a University of Washington commit, has quite the knack for jumping on the fastball.
“I think if I ever get a chance to hit the fastball, I will,” Gill said. “But I mean, this whole series I got quite the load of sliders and curve balls. But I just see the spin out of the hand and then go from there.”
After the win, the Tigers found themselves in second place in the 4A GSHL after gaining the upper hand with the series win against Union. Camas High School swept the Skyview Storm to secure first place in the league.
The Tigers embarked on a final stretch of two non-league matchups on Monday, May 5, and Tuesday, May 6, which head coach Seth Johnson pointed out were crucial matchups as the bi-district round has switched to a committee to determine the matchups for the tournament instead of regular seeding after league results. Results from the final two non-league games were unavailable at press time.
