Tanner Tow Throws Four Hit Shutout as BNL Advances

By Ben Grossberg

Bedford – Seymour and Bedford North Lawrence faced off in the opening round of Sectional 15 on Thursday. Junior Tanner Tow kept the Seymour bats in check all night on the way to a win for Bedford.

Bedford got on the board earlier with two runs in the first inning off of Seymour starter Billy Rayburn. The leadoff batter of the inning, Daniel Busch, reached on an error by the shortstop and after back to back walks BNL had the bases loaded with no outs. Derek Pitchett drove in the first run of the game with a sac fly to right. Rayburn struck out the next batter and looked like he would limit the damage. After the next batter walked, Seymour catcher Zach Brown attempted to pick him off on first. He had him out by several feet, but the first baseman could not catch the ball cleanly. On the missed catch Trey Ikerd managed to score from third.

Two runs would be all that Tow would need to get Bedford through their first round game. After a leadoff walk in the top of the first he did not allow another batter to reach base until the fourth inning, retiring nine in a row at one point.

The fourth inning was the only time Seymour really threatened to get on the board. Tanner Belcher led off the inning with a single. After a fielder’s choice, Gabe Jordan singled to put runners on first and second with one out. Tow induced a ground ball to third for a double play to get out of the inning unharmed.

Bedford did add two insurance runs after the first inning. In the bottom of the second Tow helped his own cause with a two out RBI single that scored Dillon Hensley. In the bottom of the sixth Tow singled with one out and Pritchett singled after that. On Pritchett’s single the centerfielder misplayed the ball allowing both runners to advance a base. After and intentional walk to load the bases, a passed ball brought in the fourth run for BNL.

In the seventh Tow gave up a two out hit, but got a groundout to end the game. He finished the game throwing a four hit shutout allowing just one walk and striking out three to send BNL into the semifinals against Floyd Central.