HOWARD — East Knox junior Ryan Morton isn’t the flashiest player on the diamond.
He isn’t the biggest, fastest or strongest. He doesn’t have a blistering fastball or a devastating slider. He rarely hits home runs, batting in the seven-hole, and he doesn’t lead the team in RBIs.
But his coaches can’t stop raving about him.
Why? Because he’s steady.
“He just keeps his head down and plugs away,” East Knox head coach Randy Baugher said with a smile.
The Bulldogs needed this kind of reliability on Tuesday, in a nip-and-tuck Division IV district semifinal matchup against Madison Christian. And Morton gladly delivered.
The junior pitched six innings – allowing one run on three hits, while striking out two batters and walking two – and he also came through in two of the game’s biggest moments: delivering the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, and using a diving third-base tag (after being moved to catcher) to prevent the tying run from scoring in the top of the seventh.
East Knox roared back to defeat Madison Christian, 2-1, behind the heroics of Morton and others. And now the Bulldogs are headed back to the district title game for the second year in a row.
“It feels great,” Morton said Tuesday. “The team’s come a long way. At the beginning of the year, we had a couple close games with teams we shouldn’t have. But we started picking it back up – a lot like last year.”
East Knox, seeded third in the Division IV Central District, will face seventh-seeded Fairfield Christian Academy on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Upper Arlington High School. The winner will advance to next week’s regional tournament.
HOW IT UNFOLDED: Morton has started at catcher for East Knox the last two seasons.
He’s pitched from time to time, but typically in a reliever role. Bryar Householder and Landon Spearman have started the bulk of the games for East Knox on the mound this year.
So, why did Baugher start Morton on Tuesday?
“We may have overlooked these guys a touch,” the fifth-year head coach said.
Baugher said he expected Berne Union, seeded second in the Division IV Central District, to defeat Fairfield Christian Academy in the district semifinals. That would have set up a matchup with the state-ranked Rockets in the district final on Thursday, less than 48 hours later, if the Bulldogs could hang on and beat fifth-seeded Madison Christian.
And Baugher said he felt confident – maybe a little too confident – in his team’s ability to do that. So, he decided to rest Householder and Spearman and start Morton instead.
“I never save pitchers for the big game, I fire what we’ve got,” Baugher said afterwards. “But we really probably overlooked these guys a little bit, even as coaches.”
But Baugher also knew what he was getting in Morton. While he might not have the power or precision of Householder or Spearman, he did have the ability to deliver in big moments. And Baugher said he felt confident in the junior’s ability to pull through Tuesday.
“We know what we’re gonna get (with him),” Baugher said. “He’s gonna throw strikes. He’s a real competitor, too. He’s got a good breaking ball, but he’s gonna throw strikes. And we feel like our defense has gotten a little tighter to where, if they put the ball in play, we’re gonna catch it, and if we can outscore the other team, we’ll be good.”
Madison Christian was able to get to Morton early.
The Eagles’ leadoff batter, Matthew Whaley, scored in the top of the first on an errant infield throw, giving the visitors at 1-0 advantage.
Then, in the top of the second, they advanced runners to second and third with one out. But Morton was able to work out of the jam. He recovered a bunt and tossed it home, leading to a run-saving tag that drew a roar from the home bleachers.
He then baited Whaley into an infield pop-out to end the inning, leaving two runners stranded.
Morton settled in from there. He allowed just two hits over his final four innings of work – using an array of pitches to fluster Madison Christian, while also relying on a solid fielding to keep the Eagles off the base paths.
“Before the game, I knew their top four hitters were really good, so I had to know how to pitch to them,” Morton said. “And I just worked the off-speed in there and got it done.”
Madison Christian was able to hold onto its 1-0 lead for five innings.
Reid Evans, the Eagles’ starting pitcher, allowed just five hits during the span. He worked out of multiple jams – including when East Knox had runners on second and third in the fourth and fifth innings – to keep the scoreboard clean.
“He was a good pitcher,” Baugher said. “I didn’t know much about him. I saw a lot of the kids put things out there – you know, he pitches for a travel ball team, and I saw him pitching. You can get his spin rate and his curveball rate, speed and everything else.
“But the thing you don’t realize is what kind of competitor some kids are, and he was a competitor. And we struggled to put the ball in play.”
But that all changed in the bottom of the sixth. After Spearman and Cole Delaughder reached base for East Knox – and eventually moved to second and third on a bunt from Shane Knepp – Morton stepped to the plate.
There were two outs, and two runners in scoring position. Just like the last two innings. But Morton wouldn’t let this opportunity pass by.
The junior sent a line drive through the left-field gap, scoring both runners and breaking the game wide open. East Knox now led 2-1 – and would need just three more outs to seal the deal.
“I had two strikes on me, so I knew I had to choke and poke it,” Morton recalled. “And it just was right in my wheelhouse and I swung at it, and I hit a line drive.”
Baugher made a substitution in the top of the seventh, moving Householder from third to pitcher, Lester from catcher to third, and Morton from pitcher to catcher.
It paid off moments later.
Madison Christian moved runners to second and third with one out, threatening to tie the game – or retake the lead – with a base hit. But Morton and the Bulldog defense wouldn’t let that happen.
After a pitch to the Eagles’ nine-hole batter, Morton stood up and saw a runner stranded in between third and home. He then charged the runner – communicating with Lester and other Bulldog infielders in the process – and tagged him out on a diving play that Baugher believes swung the game.
“I think the guys involved in that play and the guys involved in most plays, they’ve played lots of sports. They’re in pressure situations all the time. …” Baugher said.
“I think it helps that they just react to what’s going on, and a play like that was huge. It may have saved the game. We may still be playing. So we work on things like that, but never in this situation – or in this big of a moment. But I’ve got faith in them. They usually do the right thing.”
The play marked two outs for the Eagles, and took the tying run off third. Morton said afterwards that it all came instinctually.
“We work on first-and-thirds a lot,” he said. “And that kid – we were trying to pick him off, he was all the way off the bag. And Peter gave me a good throw back and the runner fell down, so I tried to catch him and I got him.”
Householder retired the Eagles’ final batter moments later, and the celebration was on. East Knox was heading back to the district final.
“You just never know who the hero’s gonna be, and (tonight) it was Ryan Morton,” Baugher said. “Last year, as a sophomore, he caught, but he rarely got to bat. And tonight, he was our offense and our defense.
“It’s just really good to see him come through because he just keeps his head down and plugs away, and tonight was his night.”
Morton credited his experience on the varsity golf team – as well as his experience starting for last year’s history-making baseball team – for his performance Tuesday.
“I’ve been in tough situations in golf all the time. …” Morton said. “It was getting tough there, so I knew I had to step it up. So, I came in there and did my job.”
LOOKING AHEAD: East Knox broke new ground last spring, capturing its first district title in program history.
The Bulldogs will head back to the district final Thursday, looking to defend their crown.
Baugher said it won’t be easy. East Knox beat Fairfield Christian Academy, 6-2, on March 29. But that was nearly two months ago, and FCA has since gone on to upset several local powers, such as state-ranked Berne Union on Tuesday.
“We kind of know what it looks like, and it looks tough,” Baugher said of the district final round. “It’s always tough.”
The Bulldogs won last year’s district title in a nailbiter – coming back to defeat Berne Union, 7-5, in nine innings.
Morton hopes his team will take one lesson from the experience into Thursday’s battle:
“The game’s not over ’til it’s over,” he said. “Last year, we played ’til the last inning. We came back and won it.”
