[Stardust]

LEXINGTON, KY. — St. Xavier High School baseball coach Andy Porta describes junior pitcher Sam Melchior as a bright kid who sometimes thinks too much on the mound.“That’s his greatest strength, and sometimes that’s his greatest weakness, too,” Porta said. “Sometimes you want him to get out there and just throw the ball.”
Melchior threw it just fine Monday.
The right-hander tossed a one-hitter and struck out eight and Andrew Willinger launched a two-run homer as the Tigers beat Mercer County 4-0 in a first-round game of the Kentucky National Insurance/KHSAA State Tournament.
“I can’t ask for more out of him,” Porta said. “He just dominated.”
A crowd of 1,751 at Whitaker Bank Ballpark saw Melchior improve to 9-1 and lower his ERA to 1.04. The Tigers (30-11) — ranked No. 3 in the state — advanced to face Bishop Brossart in Wednesday’s 6 p.m. quarterfinal.
Melchior allowed a single by Jon Banks and a walk to Austin Horn in the third inning, but a double play ended the threat. Mercer County (23-13) went down 1-2-3 in the other six innings.
“He’s the real deal,” said Titans coach Jeremy Shope, whose team was the state runner-up last year. “He painted the black with his fastball and had a good curveball. He’s a good pitcher.”
Titans pitcher J.T. Long (7-4) was nearly as good for five innings, allowing just two hits, before the Tigers broke through in the sixth.
After Austin Clemons led off with a walk, Willinger found himself behind in the count at 0-2.
“From then on I was just in battle mode,” he said.
Willinger worked the count to 3-2 before blasting a two-run homer into the left-field bleachers.
“I knew I needed to put a good swing on a ball and just get a base hit,” said Willinger, a 6-foot-6 first baseman who has signed with Florida Southern. “It just so happened that last-pitch change-up was a little up, and I got a hold of it and drove it out of there.”
Josh Osborne followed with a single and pinch-runner David Gahafer scored when Gunnar Wagoner’s bunt was misplayed into a three-base error. Wagoner scored for a 4-0 lead on Zach Montgomery’s perfect suicide-squeeze bunt.
Melchior took care of things from there, relying on a two-seam fastball he said had more movement than normal.
And also relying on a defense that was error-free.
“I would say we have the best defense in the state,” Melchior said. “I felt totally confident just letting them hit ground balls and fly balls all day.”
When it was over, Porta was asked whether Melchior or Willinger would get the game ball.
“I’d have to split it in two,” Porta said. “I was confident Sam was going to keep us in the ballgame, but that sure was a relief when Andrew hit that ball out.”http://saxo.highschoolsports.net/apps/pb...103&Ref=PH