Nathan Methvin Powers Spring Hill to 5-2 Win vs. Gilmer

LONGVIEW -- Nathan Methvin led Spring Hill from the mound and the plate, leading the Panthers to a 5-2 home victory against District 16-3A-leading Gilmer on Tuesday.

The loss was the first of the 16-3A schedule for Gilmer, which fell to 15-7 overall and 9-1 in district. The win pushed Spring Hill to 12-10 overall and 7-4 in 20-3A.

Methvin held Gilmer to one earned run on three hits with four strikeouts, two walks, and three hit batters in a complete-game effort. The junior right-handed worked his way out of a two-on, no-out jam in the top of the sixth, getting the next three Gilmer hitters to strike out, fly out, and pop out, preserving the 5-2 lead.

"He has the ability to pitch himself out of some situations sometimes that a lot of kids just can't do," said Spring Hill coach Joel Windham. "He's a pretty special kid. I get on him sometimes and he responds well and does a good job."

Methvin, who improved to 4-1, also had a big night at the plate.

He collected the game's only multi-hit peformance, singling and doubling in his first two at-bats while driving in a run. Methvin's RBI third-inning double came one at-bat prior to Lane Nesbett's during a three-run Panther frame that pushed Spring Hill's lead to 5-1. Ben Hollas led off the inning with a double of his own.

"The last three games he's had key hits for us," Windham said. "He came through tonight. He played like an all-star. He's a great kid. He's got two older brothers who were very good high school and college players and he's defnintely on that path. He has that expectation in the family to follow. That's a lot of pressure on him and he does well with it."

Cameron Copeland had an RBI single in Spring Hill's three-run third to cap the rally. The Panthers gained a 2-1 advantage after one inning thanks to two errors and one wild pitch. Courtesy runner Garrett Plumlee scored his first of two runs in that two-run first inning.

Gilmer leadoff hitter Dylan Bowman reached on an error to start the game and scored on Mitch Lance's fielder's choice for a 1-0 Buckeye lead in the top of the first. Bowman added a fifth-inning double, while Lance doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the fourth. Teammate Skylar Hollis had a first-inning single.

Gilmer's Bryce Tomlin yielded three earned runs, all in the third, on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks in six innings. Tomlin allowed only one hit with three strikeouts and one walk in his final three innings.

Spring Hill plays a 5 p.m. non-district game at Pittsburg on Saturday. Gilmer hosts Bullard on Friday.

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District 16-3A
Baseball

Spring Hill 5, Gilmer 2

Panther Field, Longview

Gilmer -- 100 100 0 -- 2 3 2
Spring Hill -- 203 000 x -- 5 6 1

Gilmer -- Bryce Tomlin and Jaidon Parrish.
Spring Hill -- Nathan Methvin and Ben Hollas.

WP -- Methvin (4-1).
LP -- Tomlin.

2B -- G: Dylan Bowman, Mitch Lance. SH: Ben Hollas, Nathan Methvin, Lane Nesbett.

Records -- G: 15-7, 9-1. SH: 12-10, 7-4.