Baseball: Farmington's Gregg Hurls 2-Hitter

LINCOLN -- Tyler Gregg had his full arsenal of pitches on display Saturday.

It was more than Pottsville could handle as the freshman right-hander allowed just two hits -- one was an infield single -- and struck out 1o to lead Farmington to a 4-0 win in the semifinals of the 4A-North Regional Tournament.

The win moves the Cardinals (16-5) into Monday's 2:30 p.m. regional championship game against the winner of Saturday's late game between Prairie Grove and Dover. That game ended after press deadline.

"He's a guy that we started going to late in the season," Farmington baseball coach Jay Harper said. "He's done a great job. he has 3-4 pitches that he has great command of, and he did a great job today of mixing it up."

Gregg did not allow a runner to reach third base, and only twice allowed more than one base runner in the complete-game gem. Travis Cole's infield single in the first, and Gordon Little's single in the third were the only hits allowed by Gregg.

"He did a phenomenal job," Pottsville coach Wes McCrotty said. "He kept his fastball down in the strike zone and he was able to locate it. You can't give him enough credit.

"He threw a nice breaking ball, and it looked like he was throwing a knuckle ball. He just did a great job of mixing speeds."

The Cardinals struggled against Pottsville starter Dalton Stacy the first three innings, getting just two walks. But in the fourth inning, Farmington's bats heated up and produced all the run support Gregg needed on this day.

Adam Ness led off the fourth inning with a rope double down the left-field line for the Cardinals' first hit of the day. It was a sign of things to come. Gregg ripped a double in almost the identical spot, plating Ness with the game's first run. Cade Black was hit by a pitch and both runners moved up on a Pottsville error before Flint Oxford crushed the third double of the inning -- also down the left-field line, scoring both Black and Oxford for a 3-0 lead.

"We weren't letting the ball travel early in the game," Harper said. "This game is all about making adjustments. It's a little fickle sometimes, and you have to make some adjustments. Once we did, we starting hitting."

Farmington added another run in the fifth inning. Chase Norwood was hit by a pitch and worked his way around, scoring on an RBI groundout by Ness for a 4-0 lead.

Gregg ended the game in dominant fashion, striking out the last two batters he faced to cap a stellar performance.

Pottsville (16-11) will take on the loser of Saturday's late game at noon in the third place games. All four remaining teams have already secured a berth in this week's Class 4A in Nashville.