By Christian Malone

christian.malone@gaflnews.com



MADISON, Fla. — Lowndes High played its best baseball game of the season on a night when Madison County may have played its worst. The result: a rout.

Lowndes defeated Madison 16-0 Monday night. The Vikings were close to perfect, pounding out 16 hits, scoring 16 runs, committing no errors and getting a combined two-hit shutout from three pitchers.

Was this Lowndes’ best game of the season so far?

“I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Vikings coach Danny Redshaw said. “If we had won 6-0, it would’ve been our best game of the season. We didn’t make any errors, we didn’t walk anybody after the first inning and we swung the bats real well. That’s what we’ve got to have.

“Everybody’s starting to hit it. If we can play some defense, we’re going to be O.K.”

John Simpson swung the biggest bat of all for Lowndes, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double and four RBI.

“John’s been swinging the bat well all year,” Redshaw said. “That’s his third and fourth homers of the year. He took advantage of some good pitches.”

In a game between two schools best known for their football programs, Lowndes scored the point equivalent of a touchdown and extra point in both the second and third innings to quickly pull away.

The second inning started with Ray Meyers and Jon Michael Redding drawing walks. Joseph Wetherington sacrifice bunted, but everyone was safe when the pitcher didn’t field the ball cleanly. Brent Brock followed with an RBI single, making it 1-0. Madison left-hander Jimbo Ratliff retired the next two batters, but Brandon Waller singled through the hole, just out of the shortstop’s reach, and two runners came around to score, making it 3-0. Matt Harper’s infield single scored another run.

Up stepped Simpson. The junior first baseman sent a Ratliff fastball high and deep, and it cleared the left field fence for a two-run homer, making it 7-0.

The Vikings continued to pound the ball in the third inning. Redding and Wetherington started the inning with singles. Then Brock launched a three-run homer to center field, making it 10-0. Two batters later, Ryan Carpenter lined a double into the gap in left-center, and Jermel Demps, running on contact, scored from first. Waller singled up the middle, making it 12-0. Then Simpson crushed his second longball of the game, this one to left center, and the Vikings led 14-0.

Lowndes tacked on two final runs in the top of the fifth with mostly reserves playing. Justin Gray started the inning by blasting a solo home run over the fence in left. Later in the inning, with two men on, Bryan Sermons doubled off the fence in left, scoring Ryan Youmans with the game’s final run.

“We’ve swung the bats better lately. We’re about to start the region, and now it’s time to take it to the next level,” Redshaw said.

“Madison’s got a good squad. They’re well coached; Terry (Barrs) does a good job with them. I’ll guarantee this doesn’t happen to them very often.”

In addition to Simpson’s big game, Brock was 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBI, Waller was 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Redding and Wetherington also had a pair of hits and scored two runs.

With the lead so big, Lowndes starter Waller pitched only two innings, but struck out five batters. Harper allowed just two hits and struck out three in two innings of relief, and Carpenter pitched a 1-2-3 fifth.