Mills Godwin soars in senior night baseball victory

It was, without a doubt, Eli Macturk’s night.

Oh, sure, his Mills Godwin baseball teammates brought plenty of juice to the Eagles’ 9-1 victory over visiting Glen Allen on Friday, but it was the 6-2 senior righthander who handcuffed the usually potent Jaguars for six innings and accounted for two home runs and four runs batted in two official times at bat.

“Everything was clicking,” he said as the Senior Night crowd headed for the parking lot and his guys went about the business of shoring up their field.

“I was just trying to breathe. Trying to get it going. My teammates kept the energy. I was just out there for the ride.”

Macturk, who faced 24 batters, threw 87 pitches, 52 of which were strikes.

He allowed four hits, one run (Colby Seay’s sixth inning solo homer), struck out five, walked two, and relied on his defense, and justifiably so, to make plays.

“The fastball was coming out of my hand pretty well,” he said. “My guys were great.

“Matthew Hartsfield at shortstop pulled a Superman jump (to save a hit) in center field and almost got the runner going back to first. We had Camden Lockhart in center field catching the fly ball and chucking it to Alex Boyd at second to get the double play.

“I’ve got all my faith in my defense.”

Macturk’s first home run came with two out in the bottom of the second when he drove a two-strike fastball over the 320-foot right centerfield wall.

“I couldn’t let anything get by me,” he said. “He threw a fastball early in the at-bat. I fought it off. I thought I saw it pretty well. Just a little late. Timed it better on the second one. Got the barrel on it. Probably was the most powerful hit I’ve had. It got where it had to go.”

The Eagles (18-3) added four more runs in the third.

With one out, Christian Mulroe singled and moved to second when Hartsfield was hit by a pitch. Jacob Babcock then cleared the bases with a shot over the left centerfield wall.

“I missed my pitch in my first at bat,” said Babcock, a junior third baseman and James Madison commit. “In the second at bat, he threw a fastball. I was sitting on it the whole time. What happened happened. I was on time and did my thing.”

Lockhart followed Babcock’s dinger with a first-pitch, opposite-field single to right.

He moved to second and third on wild pitches, and, after William Canfield and Macturk drew walks to load the bases, raced home on a third wild pitch to put Godwin up 5-0.

By this time, the Eagles’ energy was flowing. They controlled the momentum. Macturk was in his zone. Victory, they knew, was within their grasp.

“I didn’t feel any fatigue,” Macturk said. “I was throwing well. The ball came out of my hand in the sixth just like it did in the first.”

Milan Larew led off the Eagles’ fourth with a single to left, moved to second on Mulroe’s sacrifice bunt, and scored easily on Boyd’s double to left.

Lockhart led off the Godwin fifth with a walk and advanced to second when Canfield reached base on an error.

Then, Macturk’s second home run onto the gravel path behind the right field wall scored both Lockhart and Canfield and increased the victors’ lead to 9-0.

“We were trying to get out of here with the (10-run-lead-after-five-innings) mercy rule,” Macturk said. “(Early in the count) I swung at a high fastball. I knew I shouldn’t be swinging at that. I was battling. He gave me another fastball to hit. It was down the middle. I got the bat out to it.”

Babcock relieved Macturk in the seventh, shut down the Jaguars (13-4), and brought the game to conclusion.

“Glen Allen is a very good team,” said Godwin coach John Fletcher. “Our pre-game preparation was locked in. Everybody’s accepting their roles and doing the little things. Our kids just showed up to play tonight.”