Wilson helps keep Tribe on track

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May 13, 2009

By George Bremer, Herald Bulletin Sports Writer The Herald Bulletin Wed May 13, 2009, 10:12 PM EDT

ANDERSON — It would have been so simple to give up.

And nobody would have blamed them.

Days after a devastating one-run loss to Elwood in the Nick Muller Memorial Baseball Tournament, Anderson lost its shortstop, leadoff hitter and one of its top pitchers on a single freakish play.

Senior Zach Gooding was attempting to steal second base during a game against Pendleton Heights. The throw was high and wide on the right side of the bag. The Arabians’ shortstop leapt to keep the ball from going into center field. Just as Gooding jumped into his headfirst slide, his head collided with the shortstop’s knee.

The violence of the injury was jarring. And Gooding’s teammates were forced to watch as their friend and a senior leader was taken off the field and carted off to the hospital.

The Indians’ leadoff man suffered severe head injuries, and he hasn’t played since. He’s feeling better, and he’s been in and out of the dugout during games. Gooding hopes to return before the end of the season, but he hasn’t yet been medically cleared.

His loss left Anderson thin at the most important defensive position in the infield, at the top of the batting order and in the rotation.

But the Indians didn’t make excuses.

Instead, they rallied around their friend and continued winning baseball games.

“We were able to focus after that,” junior Blake Wilson said. “We made sure we won a couple games for Zach, and we’ve been doing well. We’ve had a few bad losses, but we’ve had a lot of good wins.”

After Wednesday’s game at Richmond was rained out, the Tribe stood at 15-3 overall and 5-2 in the North Central Conference.

Wilson is no small part of the reason for Anderson’s success.

He slid over from second base to man Gooding’s regular shortstop position, and his productive bat has helped head coach Terry Turner tinker with the lineup.

Senior Nolan Earley moved up from third to Gooding’s leadoff spot. The move was made in part to force opposing pitchers to throw to the Indians’ superstar at least one at-bat per game. But it took Earley’s potent bat out of the middle of the order.

Drew Hollon, Johnny Weis, Wilson and Zach Bucci have softened the blow.

Wilson entered the week hitting .429 with 20 RBIs and a .643 slugging percentage mostly from the cleanup spot. Hollon and Weis have been doing a good job getting on base in the two spots ahead of him, and Bucci has added protection in the No. 5 hole.

“Our offense can be as good as just about anybody’s,” Wilson said.

If opponents choose to walk Earley, as often is the case, the Tribe is more than happy to accept the gift.

“We look at it as a challenge,” Wilson said. “We’re going to make them pay for putting Nolan on base.”

Anderson’s offense has produced double-digit run totals 11 times in 18 games this season. Opponents are finding pitching around Earley is a double-edged sword.

With him often on base, the hitters behind him are capitalizing on their opportunities.

“Hollon, Weis and Wilson have all benefited from that,” Turner said. “When you put Nolan on base, you can’t pitch around any of these kids.”

Wilson drove in a run in each of his first three at-bats during an 11-8 win against Richmond on Tuesday at Memorial Field. He drove in Earley with a two-out single in the first inning and a two-out double in the second. His sacrifice fly in the fourth scored Hollon after he had driven in Earley and Tre Jackson with a single.

“(Wilson) has been solid,” Turner said. “He slides over from second base to shortstop, and he hasn’t missed a beat. And he’s hitting the ball really well.”

Wilson remains focused on team goals. The Indians are chasing an NCC championship, and after that they’ll focus on a highly competitive sectional field.

For now, Anderson is enjoying the ride.

“We’re definitely where we want to be (as a team),” Wilson said. “No one expected us to be where we are right now. We’re just going to take it one game at a time.”

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