CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE — Evan Genders figured summer baseball was the best way to prepare for the varsity season. Turns out, his trip to the doctor’s office was the true catalyst.
The right-hander had constantly experienced elbow soreness after pitching, so his doctor recommended he exchange his three-quarters motion for a more classic, over-the-top look.
So far, so good.
Genders blanked for 5-2/3 innings Tuesday, and flamethrower Cody Simmering finished up the No. 2 Tigers’ convincing at Judd’s Field.
“My elbow’s been fine and I’ve been able to recover quicker,” Genders said. “I’ve also thrown with more accuracy.”
That much was evident against the Sun Devils in a matchup of teams that entered with 9-1 overall records and 5-0 league marks (each had lost only to top-ranked Eaton). Genders registered nine strikeouts against Kent’s generally potent lineup and Simmering finished up with three K’s among his four outs.
“My fastball has much more movement now and I’m staying down in the zone,” Genders said. “I used to have way more walks.”
Holy Family coach Marc Cowell, whose team received three RBI from second baseman Sean Urban, said Genders still misses high occasionally but that the transition has gone well.
“He’s still finding his release point, but I notice he’s getting better downward trajectory on the strikes,” Cowell said.
Kent Denver recorded only four hits in support of starter Gus Lang, who allowed eight hits (all singles) and four runs in five innings.
“Evan threw a lot of strikes and kept us off-balance,” Sun Devils coach Bill Boatman said. “He kind of dictated what pitches we were swinging at — if we were swinging at them at all.”
Holy Family went up 2-0 in the first on RBI singles by Will Roth and Urban, then Urban added a two-run single in the third. The Tigers (10-1, 6-0) added two unearned runs in the sixth. Catcher Rob McCandlish compiled two hits, two runs and two stolen bases for the Tigers.
Kent Denver’s Dylan Finer had the game’s only extra-base hit, a double off the glove of diving Tigers left fielder Ryan Silva in the fourth.
