Price pitches Lancers to NWC title

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Landon Price struck out 15 batters and state-ranked Lincolnview (No. 4, Division IV) clinched an outright Northwest Conference championship with a 2-0 win over rival Crestview on Monday.

“It feels great because this was one of our goals, to win it outright,” Lincolnview head coach Eric Fishpaw said. “It was a tough scenario, winning that last one especially against a good Crestview team. I knew it would be a good game and that it would come down to who made plays and who could manufacture a couple of runs.”

“I tip my hat to Lincolnview (16-7, 8-0 NWC) for running the table in the Northwest Conference,” Crestview head coach Jim Wharton said. “They have a great group of kids and Eric does a nice job with them.”

The game was scoreless entering the bottom of the third, when Brandon Renner opened with a single. After a sacrifice bunt by Austin Bockratch and a walk by Price, Renner scored on a fly ball by Collin Overholt.

Lincolnview’s other run came in the sixth and it gave the Lancers a bit of breathing room. Price opened with a single then two batters later, Carson Fox drove in Fox for a 2-0 margin.

“That was big,” Fishpaw said of Fox’s RBI. “We have a lot of faith in our top guys to get on base and manufacture runs.”

“That was huge, because when you look at that it was a swinging bunt and (Ayden) Lichtensteiger comes in full tilt and makes a play…it was executed well defensively but it was just placed in a spot where we couldn’t make the play,” Wharton said.

Price, who allowed five hits, fired three straight strikeouts in the seventh to end the game.

“He is the type of player that wants the baseball in this game,” Fishpaw said of Price. “He is mentally tough, a great team leader and a force on the mound. I think as the game went on Landon got stronger.”

Credit also goes to his catcher (Overholt) who had a fantastic game receiving, blocking and throwing out runners at first on balls in the dirt for strike three,” Fishpaw added. “I’m very proud of their efforts tonight.”

Carson Hunter had two of Crestview’s five hits and Trever Sheets went the distance on the mound, allowing four hits while striking out four and walking one. The Knights (10-8, 3-5 NWC) left five runners on base.

“It’s hard to score runs off of Landon and we just needed to have Trev command the strike zone and I thought he did,” Wharton said. “As young as we are we’re growing day-by-day. We’ve lost some games we shouldn’t have lost and we’ve been fortunate against some tough opponents. Our sticks were decent tonight, we didn’t get completely overwhelmed, especially early and I’m very pleased with our kids.”

Lincolnview will host Hicksville today while Crestview will travel to Minster.