South Royalton
But after four straight losses to the Blue Devils over two years, three with a one-run difference, it was hard not to feel like Thursday’s 4-3 loss brought back some bad memories to the hometown dugout.
This time around, of course, things are different. South Royalton has rolled through its first season in Division IV since 2013s, outscoring opponents 97-35 through nine straight wins. Playing down a division has given the Royals, an experienced team with enough talent to compete in D-III, an advantage from the beginning. For Ballou, facing a familiar foe in the regular season gets his team in shape for an inevitable playoff run.
“They’re fun to play,” Ballou said of Williamstown. “If you think about it, I’d rather lose 4-3 than win 21-2. Some of our games have been 21-2 and we aren’t learning anything from it. The only way you learn is you play games where you have to put pressure on you.”
For that run to end with a state title, South Royalton’s first since 2013, Ballou knows his team will have to get off to a better start.
Royals pitcher Dalton McDougall struggled through his first two innings, hitting Williamstown leadoff hitter Curtis Gauthier on his first pitch before loading the bases and walking Jared Blanchard for the game’s opening run. McDougall walked two and gave up two hits and three runs before the third inning.
“If you look back at our pitch counts for the three, four, or five games this year, our pitchers have struggled in the first inning with a lot of pitches,” Ballou said. “If you pitch 120 and you lose the first 25 in the first inning, it puts down the amount of innings after that.
“I thought (McDougall) pitched well (after that). He pitched really well.”
McDougall, a junior, settled down after the rough start, finishing with eight strikeouts in seven innings of work, allowing five walks and five hits.
South Royalton’s offense had trouble responding to Williamstown’s early rally, leaving three runners on base in the first three innings. Blue Devil pitcher Cameron Flinn was on his game early, recording five strikeouts in that span.
In the bottom of the fourth, South Royalton broke through. Dominick Small and Andy Moore started off with two singles. A bunt by Josh Scoskie put runners in scoring position and a single by Justin Brock put his team on the scoreboard, Small scored from third. But after a wild throw past first base, Moore stopped at third base instead of continuing to home, keeping the Royals from scoring another. Considering the final score, Ballou said it was one of several miscues that kept his team from pulling away.
Moore did eventually score in the fourth, as did Brock, who scored off a wild pitch. But Williamstown’s offense responded in the top of the fifth on Flinn’s second run of the game.
“It was a one-run game, it doesn’t get any better than that,” Ballou said. “We lost to them three times last year, and we were in the same situation either tied or ahead. We’re very even with (Williamstown).”
Flinn allowed zero hits and threw three strikeouts over the last three innings to finish off the Royals. Williamstown jumped to 7-3.
South Royalton plays Arlington (2-6) at home on Saturday, beginning a string of games against sub-.500 D-IV opponents before the Royals face Poultney, one of D-III’s better teams at 6-2, in the last game of the season.
Much like Thursday’s game against the Blue Devils, the Poultney game will serve as a tune-up for a Royals’ playoff run. But with the perfect record now behind South Royalton, Ballou said his team can now breathe a little bit more freely. The pressure of having a zero in the loss column is off the table. Less distractions means his team can focus on the task at hand — and a potential meeting with Proctor (9-1) in the D-IV tournament.
“It’s a good test,” Ballou said. “There are still some good teams in our division, some good pitchers that I’ve heard about. The more at-bats you get against good pitchers, the better prepared you’ll be overall.
“We don’t like to lose, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s all about making themselves better and maybe (Thursday’s loss) will make them a little bit more hungry once the playoffs come around.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or at 603-727-3306.