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Red Devils preparing for first-round trip to Spring Garden

First-year Vina baseball coach Jake Ward didn’t sound too concerned on Monday while discussing his team’s four-game losing streak to end the regular season.

“I feel like we’ve played better teams during this last stretch,” said Ward, whose team made the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and will travel to face Spring Garden in a best-of-three series starting on Friday. “I think we showed a lot of improvement in some spots. We’ve gotten better, even though we’ve been struggling.”

The Red Devils (12-11) were swept in a doubleheader by Class 4A Rogers and also dropped games to Cherokee and Phil Campbell in the season’s final week, but they clinched a playoff berth in late March and wound up finishing runner-up to Hackleburg in Area 13. Spring Garden, back in the postseason after missing the playoffs in 2016, won the Area 10 championship and finished the season 21-6.

“I know they have a really good record, but that doesn’t always mean everything,” Ward said. “We’ve just gotta show up and play our game, and we’ll be just fine.”

Vina’s game primarily centers around strong pitching and coming up with big hits in key spots. Ace pitcher James Barnes threw a pair of no-hitters (one of which was a perfect game) this season and enters the playoffs with a 5-2 record and a 2.49 ERA. The senior right-hander has racked up 82 strikeouts in 44.2 innings while holding opponents to just 25 hits.

Tyler Renfrow, another senior righty, leads the staff in starts (10) and innings pitched (47.2). He has thrown two complete games while striking out 70 batters and walking just 18. Senior lefty Justin Gravitt (24 strikeouts and just eight hits allowed in 13.1 innings) provides Ward with another option on the mound should the series stretch to a third game. [Game one is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m., with game two immediately following and game three—if necessary—set for Saturday afternoon.]

“I’m really confident in our pitching,” Ward said. “They’ve been great all year. I know they’re gonna keep us in the game and give us a chance.”

Ward said that backing up that pitching with solid defense and timely hitting is essential if his team hopes to advance to the second round, where the Red Devils would face the winner between Area 12 runner-up Lynn (15-7) and Area 15 champion Decatur Heritage (14-10).

“We have to play good defense, and we’ve gotta have situational hitting,” Ward said. “I’d say a few plays here and there have really expended our pitch counts. That’s something we have to clean up. We have to make the plays so we can have our guys on the mound go the whole game.”

As a six-year varsity letterman at Russellville (Class of 2010), Ward played in countless playoff series, helping the Golden Tigers advance to the Class 5A semifinals in 2007 and to the quarterfinals the following year. None of his current players have experienced the pressure of the postseason, but Ward said they understand what’s at stake beginning on Friday.

“I’ve just been excited about it, and our guys have been, too,” he said. “I think the seniors are starting to realize, ‘Hey, we’ve gotta go out with a bang, because this could be our last go at it.’”

Gravitt, who starts in centerfield, leads the Red Devils with a .439 batting average, 29 hits and 27 runs scored while reaching base at a .570 clip. Renfrow has posted a team-best .605 OBP while batting .380 with 26 runs scored.

Those two set the table for a productive middle of the lineup led by senior first baseman Andrew Upton (.400 average, 18 RBIs, 22 runs, .576 OBP), junior middle infielder Austin Harper (.344 average with 17 RBIs, 18 runs and 15 stolen bases) and junior catcher Austin Childers (.365 average with a team-leading 13 doubles and 29 RBIs).

Chris Brewer (.333 average), Blake Hardin (.298 average, 13 RBIs, 17 runs, .459 OBP) and sophomore outfielder Jacob Lewis (.426 average, 24 runs scored, .579 OBP, team-best 18 steals) all provide a spark toward the bottom of a deep lineup that averages 8.5 runs per game.

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