BRISTOL, Va. – Porter Gobble is a 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher with a wicked knuckle-curve and an advanced grasp of pitching mechanics.
Consider the latest performance by the sophomore prodigy on Battle Hill.
With an assortment of pitches, Gobble allowed just one hit and struck out seven as the John Battle Trojans rolled to a 16-0 five-inning win over the Richlands Blue Tornados in the opening round of the Region 2D playoffs.
“We jumped out quick on offense and that helped me to relax, but I knew that I had to stay locked in,” Goble said.
The Trojans (17-7) were locked and loaded at the plate, scoring seven runs on four hits in the first inning against 6-foot-3 Richlands right-hander Ben Hale.
“Hale is a good pitcher, so it was important to get to him early and not let him get settled in,” said Jimmy Gobble, the Battle head coach and father of Porter.
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Battle collected 11 hits, as every batter in the lineup reached base at least once.
Porter Gobble set the pace with two line doubles and a three-run inside-the-park home run in the second inning.
“It’s cool to say that you hit an inside-the-park home run in high school. I think the last time I did that was in Little League,” Porter said.
As the ball rolled past the Richlands leftfielder, Gobble displayed his speed.
“When I rounded second base, I wanted to score,” Gobble said.
Caden Sturgill drove in three runs for Battle with two singles, while Elijah Childress contributed two singles and Evan Hankins doubled and drove in three runs.
“Battle has a lot of good players and Coach Gobble runs a tight ship,” first-year Richlands coach Ben Brown said. “Ben (Hale) can throw 92-mph, but Battle has an impressive lineup.”
Hale walked six, hit two batters and gave up five hits Thursday before leaving the mound in the second inning.
It’s been a season of frustration for Richlands, which lost eight games by two runs or less.
“We came into the season expecting to be competitive, and we were,” Brown said. “But losing that many close games was brutal.”
Richlands (5-16) was unable to play any games on its home field at Southwest Virginia Community College due to problems with the grass, while Hale was sidelined for the second part of the season due to a broken hand.
“We made 22-23 trips to games,” Brown said. “The college field should be fixed by next season, and we’re building our own field behind Richlands Elementary.”
The Blues started four freshmen Thursday. Dylan Brown (25 stolen bases), Ethan Roberts and Parker Lowe will graduate, but leading hitter C.J. Earls will return.
“We have a good corps returning and we’re going to be competitive,” Brown said.
Max Herndon collected the lone hit for Richlands Thursday with a line single in the fourth inning.
The Battle defense, which features quick center fielder Brodie Bailey, took care of the rest in support of Gobble.
“We controlled the pace of the game on defense and did a solid job on 1-1 counts,” Coach Gobble said. “From a lineup standpoint, l like where we’re at. We’ve pushed the guys in practice and through the regular season. It’s kind of their time, now.”
Porter Gobble appears primed for a playoff run. In addition to his signature knuckle-curve, Gobble can fool hitters with a change-up and two different varieties of fastball.
“Knowing that I can trust my guys is the key,” Gobble said. “I can throw my stuff and have confidence that they are going to get me runs.”
Several major college coaches have expressed interest in Gobble, who competes for the talent-stacked Dirt Bags platinum travel league team.
“The summer is going be to really big for me, but I’m just focused on our high school season now.”
