You would expect a third round playoff game to be a good one and this one didn’t disappoint. Conley “walked off” Topsail 3-2.
I would have preferred sitting behind the plate but that wasn’t an option. Britt kept a Conley team hitting .313 coming into the game in check. In 6.1 innings, I had him with 6 K’s, 5 hits, 3 walks and a hit batter. He left the game with a 2-1 lead.
Britt is a long, lean pitcher with an easy 3/4 delivery and a compact windup. Due to my location, I couldn’t pick up movement on his fastball. Velocity looked good and I am confident will improve. His breaking ball appears stellar as Conley hitters struggled with it. Very fundamentally sound and very composed on the mound. Although I doubt we see this in college, he swings a good bat too.
Britt did two things that impressed me. Conley had a kid at bat in a bunt situation and Britt elevated his fastball. In another situation, Conley had a runner on first. Britt threw over 3 times and picked him off on the 4th.
When Corey took the field at second, my first thought was Colby Wilkerson. Similar size and build. Good hands at second. Hard to make a judgement on his arm at second base. Good fundamentals. Moves his feet well and made good decisions. On one play, he made a good break on a flare to right field but couldn’t quite run it down.
At bat, he looks fundamentally solid and drove in the first Conley run on a sacrifice fly.
While he looks good in the field and at the plate (highest average for Conley coming into the game at .407), my understanding is he was recruited as a pitcher.
After Britt exited the mound and moved to CF, Conley won it on back to back walks with the bases loaded. I felt terrible for the kid who came in to pitch in relief. I hope he isn’t a senior and gets a chance to redeem himself.