Tim Thompson had been Galena High's top pitcher all year, and his three-hit performance against Douglas in the first round of the 4A zone playoffs wasn't a surprise to coach Gary McNamara.
"He's our big guy," McNamara said after the 3-0 win over the Tigers Wednesday at Ron McNutt Field. "He's done it all year. He did a good job of keeping his poise. He likes to work fast, and Douglas was trying to slow him down."
Thompson, using mostly a fastball early, fanned four and walked two. He had a no-hitter for 4 1/3 innings before Luke Rippee doubled to right.
"They were first-pitch hitting," Thompson said. "I give a lot of credit to my infield. They made the plays behind me.
"I'm always nervous. If you can turn that into energy -- I found my change-up in the fifth inning. I stayed back more and that helped me."
Thompson needed to be on top of his game, because except for the first inning, Douglas' Austin Graham matched him pitch-for-pitch. Graham fanned three and walked four in his route-going effort.
"Austin did a great job," Douglas coach John Glover said. "Even in the first inning, I didn't think he threw that bad. He kept us in the game.
"We made a couple of errors, and I told the kids before the game that pitching and defense wins zone tournaments."
Galena batted around in the first against Graham, scoring all three of its runs. Graham walked three and allowed two hits.
Warren Whitley singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Steve Lerud walked. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch.
Kameron Davis followed with a ground ball to third baseman Brandon Silveira, who bobbled the ball and then threw wildly at first, allowing Whitley to score. Lerud moved around to third, and Davis ended up at second. Dalton Turnbow walked to load the bases, and Plemmons singled home Lerud and Davis to make it 3-0. Graham escaped without further damage.
Graham retired 10 of the next 11 batters he faced. Graham, in fact, didn't allow a runner past second base the rest of the game.
"Austin Graham, if he isn't one of the best players in the area, is one of the top competitors," McNamara said. "He held us right there."
Thompson, who retired 13 of the first 14 batters he faced, was only in serious trouble in the fifth and seventh innings.
After Rippee's double in the fifth, Chris Honer flied to right. Rippee tagged up and went to third. He was stranded when Kyle Luken rolled out.
In the seventh, James Bunting led off with walk. He moved to second on Silveira's infield out and to third on Honer's single. Thompson fanned Luken on a called third strike to end the game.
"I was not pleased with our approach at the plate," Glover said. "I think we were trying to pull the ball too much; rolling over on the ball and not going to the opposite field.
"It's not over. I told the kids that there would be bumps in the road. We just have to battle whoever we play tomorrow (today)."
