Hamilton High Bounces Back To Beat Arlington (Tenn.)

CARY, N.C.—Hamilton High (Chandler, Ariz.) knows about first-game disappointments at the National High School Invitational, having lost its opener in 2013. But it also knows how to rebound.

Coming off a loss to the Canterbury School, in which they got blanked by helium prospect Sam Keating, Hamilton High rebounded Thursday by blanking Arlington (Tenn.) High 3-0 in the first game of Day Two of the 2017 NHSI at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.

Senior righthander Seth Sas blanked Arlington on six hits over six innings before shortstop/closer Drew Swift finished it. Hamilton, which had just four hits in its opener, knocked out nine on Thursday, two each from Britton Graham, who had the game’s first RBI, and Brayden Merritt.

For head coach Mike Woods, who has built Hamilton into a perennial power in Arizona, finding motivation after a first-game loss was easy.

“There’s just a lot of baseball left,” he said. “Obviously our goal was to go as far as we could and possibly win the thing. (But) we were here in 2013 and we lost the first game and then we won the next three, and I remember feeling really good about the week.

“A lot of good things can still happen.”

The big difference Thursday, Woods said, had little to do with change in philosophy and a lot to do with a change of opponent.

“Different arm, definitely swung the bat better, but that Cantebury kid made us look real average,” Woods said.

Sas, a Central Arizona JC commit, wasn’t overpowering but kept the ball down, concentrating on angle and using his defense.

“I just wanted to get the ball in play, because I feel like we have one of the best defenses in the country,” the righthander said. “If I could get ground balls, I could count on them to make the plays.”

Woods said his team doesn’t have the weapons of some of the more high-profile teams but is still dangerous.

“We don’t have the big arms, but we have guys who can pitch, so we have to spot, we have to mix.”

Stanford commit Nick Brueser, one of the best high school hitters in the country, was 1-for-4, while Swift was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts while playing short.

Arlington fell to 0-2 in the NHSI.