Giving it his All

Giving it his All Blue Devils top Ponies

WM School District West Memphis pitcher Nick Allsbrook was so focused on the task at hand Tuesday that by the fifth inning it finally occurred to him that he hadn't allowed a hit.

Indeed, the junior righthander had allowed only one baserunner and had struck out nine before he came back to the dugout after the fifth inning and a teammate mentioned the no-hitter.

'Right before I went out for the sixth inning somebody mentioned it,' said Allsbrook. 'And I guess it jinxed me.'

Maybe so.

Allsbrook allowed a lead-off single to right field by Forrest City's Tony Goodman and then the tough choice that Blue Devil head coach Jonathan Crymes was anticipating making was already made for him.

Crymes lifted Allsbrook after 70-plus pitches and replaced him with fellow junior Hayden Spears.

But what a performance Allsbrook turned in by leading the Blue Devils to a 6-2 victory over the Mustangs at Tilden Rodgers Complex.

'Nick came out today throwing strikes and I'd say between today and (Monday) with Trevor (Wise) we've walked very few people,' said Crymes, whose team now stands at 1-2. 'We were going to let him stay out there as long as he was feeling good and as long as he hadn't given up a hit.'

Allsbrook fanned the side in the first inning and from there it was apparent he had electric stuff.

'My two-seam (fastball) inside they couldn't touch,' he said. 'My curve was good early and I didn't really throw my change-up much today.'

Allsbrook's mates struck early to stake him to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

Junior Austin Sudbury singled with one out and later scored on the first of two singles on the day by senior Trevor Wise.

Then, sophomore Curtis Washington, who also had two hits, rapped a single up the middle to plate Spears and Mason Kearney, who was running for Wise.

Allsbrook also had the hardest ball hit all day when he sent a sizzler into left field to plate Bobby Flippo for a 4-0 West Memphis lead.

'We've been talking to our hitters about keying from the middle to the opposite field and our guys did that a few times today,' said Crymes.

Washington drove in his third run of the game with a single up the middle and the sixth run scored in unearned fashion in the seventh as Lance Burch crossed the plate.

Spears, who also contributed a single at the plate, was victimized by a two-base error which led to two unearned runs in the sixth, but the junior reliever fanned the side to end the game in the seventh.

By Billy Woods