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Led by the return of ace Justin Livengood and sparked by a huge third inning, Ledford finally looked like the team that dominated earlier in the season as the Panthers rolled up their sleeves and took the Central Davidson Spartans behind the woodshed in a 12-2 rout in the Central Carolina Conference tournament semifinals.
Not only will Ledford play West Davidson, who upset No. 1 seeded Salisbury, in Monday’s final, but regardless of the outcome, the Panthers have already wrapped up the top-seed from the CCC for the state playoffs.
“I had a good feeling after the East Davidson game,” said Ledford coach Chris Adams. “I felt like things were getting back on track. We started off so hot, then we got cold and people started doubting us. Kids have to hear that and deal with that, and I’m proud of them. We kept working and we got some breaks along the way. When Justin came back and said he was ready to go everybody felt so much better. Am I surprised we beat them [Central] in five, sure I am. We are back to our old selves.”
Ledford (10-3, 19-6) did all the things it hadn’t been doing two weeks ago when the Panthers dropped three of four CCC outings — get key hits with quality starting pitching. Livengood, making his first start in three weeks, struggled through the first inning, surrendering two runs off two hits and a walk, but after that, the big right-hander was sharp as a tack. In his final four innings of work, Livengood faced just three over the minimum, allowing only one hit while striking out four.
“The first inning always seems to be either really good or really bad,” Livengood said. “It went semi-bad. I had really good defense behind me so I didn’t have to work as hard. It just seemed like we took a two-week vacation. Now we’ve got back home where we need to be. We feel like if we pitch and hit the ball, we’ll be all right. Tonight was a statement that we are all back and ready to play.”
After going down in order in the first, the Panther offense heated up in the second, sending nine hitters to the plate in a three-run frame. CDHS (9-4, 15-8) starter Nick Musgrave walked the first two hitters he faced, setting up the big inning. Brian Connolly plated the first run with a grounder to second that Jordan Surratt butchered, allowing Livengood to score and keeping the sacks juiced. Luke Ledwell tied the game at two after taking one in the back for the team, plating Sam Berrier. Jacob Scott followed with a sacrifice fly, giving LHS its first lead at 3-2.
The Panthers did leave the bases loaded in the second, but there would no leftovers in the third as Ledford sent 12 to the plate en route to eight runs. Ryan Fitzgerald, Connolly and Ricky Vaughn all drove in runs during the onslaught, but the big blow came off the bat of Patrick Koontz, who unloaded a mammoth three-run shot to right center-field off reliever Zack Briggs that got the party started.
“We were in a slump but I knew we’d come alive,” said Koontz. “We got more mentally tough and we are more of a team now than what we were. Now we’re getting big hits where we weren’t two weeks ago.”
LHS managed to wrap up the affair in five innings once pinch-runner Tyler Rogers scored on a wild pitch.
Staff Writer Eliot Duke can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 233, or at eliotduke@hotmail.com.