The Beatles once sang about getting by with a little help from their friends. After Saturday night’s game against the Quincy Gems, Josh Smith knows what they were talking about.
In the third to last meeting between the Cavemen and the Gems, Smith pitched seven shutout innings, helping to propel his team on to a 7-2 win.
Smith said he was glad to get the win, but that he knows who it really belongs to – the defense
“[Ashley] Graeter made a sweet play in the hole and [Matt] Burton went back on the ball really well,” Smith said. “The defense was definitely there tonight.”
Over the course of his eight innings, Smith gave up four hits while walking five. The win improves the southpaw’s record to 1-2 this season and drops his ERA to 3.86. At one point in the game, the hurler had faced just 16 batters in five innings of work. However, with just four strikeouts to his credit, Smith depended on his defense to get a majority of the outs.
It wasn’t until the top of the eighth inning that Smith picked up the only mark against him, when he walked four of the first five runners he faced, walking in Quincy’s Jake Hibberd for Quincy’s first run of the game.
Smith finished out the inning, but did not last to see the end of the game.
“I didn’t want to ask what my pitch count was until the eighth,” Smith said. “I knew I was getting tired but I came back after the eighth and they said my pitch count was still low. I probably had a chance to go out for the ninth but I was just too tired.”
James Hudelson was tapped in the top of the ninth to close the door on Smith’s work. And even though a run would come home before it was all finished, the Cavemen were still able to hold on for the win.
Hannibal manager Jay Hemond said with Smith on his game as well as he was, it made it much easier for the rest of the team to get going, especially at the plate.
“We are just playing solid baseball now,” Hemond said. “They are able to compete. They were always talented but now they are able to understand the speed of the game, the nuances. … Everything is clicking right now.”
The Cavemen wasted no time getting down to business. The Louisiana State contingency of the squad was especially helpful in starting the offense in the top of the first. Grant Dozar had a sacrifice fly to center that allowed Colin Hofmann to convert his lead-off triple into a run, while Matt Gaudet picked up a single to drive home Kyle Gaedele.
But that was just the start for Gaudet. The LSU Tiger was 3-for-4 for the Cavemen with four RBIs, all of which he picked up in his first three time up to bat.
The Cavemen have a little time off before taking the field again. The next game will be a home match-up on Tuesday against the Springfield Sliders. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35.
Hannibal, MO —
