Governors ease past Cavaliers

By Ryan Yemen Daily Progress correspondent
Published: April 11, 2008

LOVINGSTON - Looking for their second win of the season, the Nelson County baseball team squared off against Dogwood District front-runner Chatham on Friday evening.
Chalk one up for the Governors. Behind a 3 for 4, four-RBI performance from M.J. Wells, Nelson cruised to an 8-4 victory.
“If we can build on this we could find ourselves in a dogfight at the top of the district,” said Nelson coach Scott McGarry. “That’s our plan. We really hope to hit a stride.”
The Governors (2-5, 1-1 Dogwood) made good use of the batter-friendly winds in the first two innings. Senior William Mays hit a two-run jack in the second inning to put Nelson up 4-0.
“We were hitting the ball real well in batting practice,” McGarry said. “Our guys knew the wind was carrying the ball, so we had a lot of confidence at the plate.”
Four batters later, Wells hit a two-run homer of his own. The Governors’ center fielder also hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to put his team up by the final margin.
“They threw two curve balls that just hung,” Wells said of his two four-baggers. “I just put a clean swing on it.”
After giving up five runs in the second, the Cavaliers (5-3, 3-1) responded with a four run rally of their own behind a two-run home run from Gavin Hylton.
Coming off an ankle injury, Ben Ponton pitched a complete game for Nelson.
“It’s his first start in a while,” McGarry said. “And we told him, ‘It’s your game. You’ve got to go out as a senior and get it done.’ And he did.”
Ponton retired the first seven batters he faced. He finished the game with five strikeouts and three earned runs on five hits.
“They hit, we didn’t,” said Chatham coach Chad Anderson. “Ponton pitched a great game.”
After Hylton’s long ball, the Cavaliers struggled to get anything going on offense. The Chatham batters were able to put the ball in play, but the Nelson defense held its own.
“I don’t want to take anything way from them, but this is the worst I’ve seen us swing the bat,” Anderson said.  “But it’s baseball.  Not many teams go undefeated.”
Nelson travels to Brookville on Monday at 7 p.m.