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Robbie Wilson’s stature might not make him look the part of a prototypical ace of a high school baseball team, but the Wise County Central senior has the intangibles it takes to be the main man of a pitching staff.
“Robbie is about 125 pounds soaking wet,” said Warriors coach Kelly Foster. “But the kid is the biggest competitor I’ve ever coached. His execution is always at a high level and his baseball IQ is out of this world. He doesn’t lack confidence either.”
Wilson was at his best on Thursday night as Central tallied a 3-1 triumph over the Tazewell Bulldogs in the first round of the VHSL Region 2D tournament. The bespectacled right-hander allowed one run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings, while walking four and striking out eight in helping his team notch an impressive road win.
“I’ve played a lot of baseball in my life, but that game may have been the most fun game I’ve played,” Wilson said.
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He struck out six of the first seven batters he faced against a quality lineup and carried a shutout into the sixth inning.
“I felt dominant in the beginning, but I think they started to pick up on me towards the fourth or fifth inning,” Wilson said. “But my defense backed me up and played really well.”
Tazewell had two runners on in the sixth inning with one out when Wilson induced a hard-hit groundball that turned into a 6-4-3 double play pulled off by the trio of shortstop Ashton Bolling, second baseman Nate West and first baseman Tristan Barnette.
“It was probably the most clutch double play I’ve ever been a part of,” Wilson said.
It wouldn’t be the only time Bolling played a big role either.
He delivered a two-run single in the fifth inning and later got the save on the mound by recording the game’s final two outs.
After Wilson reached the VHSL-imposed pitch count with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Bolling was called on to finish the job.
“Not at all,” he said. “Even though Ashton had a shaky outing last time out, he was fired up all day for when he got the chance to take the mound. I’ve played with him since I was 5-years-old and I’ve never been nervous with him on the mound.”
Tazewell had runners on second and third when Bolling notched a strikeout on a fastball to end the game and seal the deal.
It made a winner of Wilson, who is 9-2 on the mound this year after going 8-0 the season before.
“I would say I’m a mix of a pitch-to-contact guy and a strikeout pitcher,” Wilson said. “I use my fastball and change-up a lot to try to produce weak contact and my slider to throw hitters off balance to get some ugly swings to punch them out.”
Oh yeah, he owns the top batting average on the squad too.
Always has been, always will be.
Underestimate him at your own risk.
“When Robbie was 6-years-old, his dad [Central athletic director Chris Wilson] and I took a group of kids who were 7 and 8-year-olds to Cincinnati to play in a travel baseball tournament,” Foster said. “I remember that we played the Cincy Flames, who are one of the top travel organizations nationally. Our older guys had already pitched out, so we put 6-year-old Robbie on the mound with a batting helmet on. Robbie gets on the mound and did what Robbie has always done – get people out.”
Central (15-8) plays at defending Region 2D champion John Battle (17-7) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a Region 2D semifinal clash with a state tournament bid on the line. It’ll mark the seventh meeting between the Mountain 7 District rivals in the last two years and Battle has rolled to 15-2, 10-2 and 13-4 wins over the Warriors this spring.
“They are the defending [Class 2] runners-up that returned the majority of their team. They’ve been picked to win it all since the season started,” Foster said. “We will be heavy underdogs and we understand that. Our guys will go out and compete as hard as possible. I don’t think anyone expected us to be here and we like when people doubt us. We have nothing to lose.”
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Auburn 7, Eastern Montgomery 0
Galax 13, Parry McCluer 1
Narrows 7, Grayson County 2
George Wythe 11, Highland 1
George Wythe at Narrows, 5 p.m.
At Christiansburg High School
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.
Chilhowie 5, Thomas Walker 0
Rural Retreat 4, J.I. Burton 1
Eastside 24, Twin Valley 0
Chilhowie vs. Rural Retreat, 2 p.m.
Eastside vs. Lebanon, 4:30 p.m.
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.
John Battle 16, Richlands 0
Wise County Central 3, Tazewell 1
Virginia High 5, Gate City 2
at John Battle High School
Virginia High vs. Marion, 5 p.m.
John Battle vs. Wise County Central, 7 p.m.
at John Battle High School
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
Magna Vista 8, Carroll County 7
William Byrd 8, Northside 4
Cave Spring 12, William Byrd 2
Christiansburg 9, Lord Botetourt 2
Tunstall 5, Hidden Valley 0
Abingdon 10, Magna Vista 0
Christiansburg at Cave Spring
Auburn 10, Craig County 0
George Wythe 4, Parry McCluer 2
Grayson County 10, Covington 8
Fort Chiswell 12, Eastern Montgomery 2
Grayson County at Fort Chiswell
At Christiansburg High School
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.
Patrick Henry 3, Twin Springs 0
Honaker 5, Patrick Henry 3
Eastside 8, Rural Retreat 1
Rye Cove 20, Twin Valley 0
Honaker vs. Eastside, 2 p.m.
Rye Cove vs. Lebanon, 4:30 p.m.
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.
Tazewell 13, Wise County Central 3
John Battle 3, Richlands 2
Tazewell vs. Lee High, 3 p.m.
John Battle vs. Gate City, 5 p.m.
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.
Lord Botetourt 13, Tunstall 8
Christiansburg 9, Hidden Valley 6
Carroll County 1, Lord Botetourt 0
Staunton River 16, Bassett 3
Cave Spring 3, Christiansburg 0
Northside at Carroll County
Staunton River at Cave Spring
Honaker def. Holston, fft.
Lebanon def. Grundy, fft.
At Fuller Field (Honaker)
Virginia High 6, Grundy 0
Tazewell 1, Wise County Central 0
at Emory & Henry College
Graham vs. Tazewell, 5 p.m.
Virginia High vs. Marion, 7 p.m.
Semifinal winners, 7 p.m.
Cave Spring 3, William Byrd 1
Staunton River 2, Lord Botetourt 1
Magna Vista 0, Cave Spring 0 (MV wins on PKs)
Christiansburg 5, Abingdon 0
Bassett 1, Carroll County 0
Tunstall 2, Staunton River 2 (Tunstall wins 3-2 on PKs)
Christiansburg at Magna Vista
Eastern Montgomery 11, Galax 0
George Wythe 8, Bland County 0
George Wythe at Eastern Montgomery, 5:30 p.m.
At Christiansburg High School
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.
Richlands 2, John Battle 0
Wise County Central 3, Tazewell 1
Richlands vs. Wise County Central, 7 p.m.
Semifinal winners, 5 p.m.
Staunton River 5, Tunstall 0
Christiansburg 1, Cave Spring 0
Magna Vista 3, Staunton River 2
Hidden Valley 1, Abingdon 0
William Byrd 4, Carroll County 0
Lord Botetourt 3, Christiansburg 0
Hidden Valley at Magna Vista
William Byrd at Lord Botetourt
