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Fleming County cruises to 14-4 win over Saints
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 9:28 PM EDT
After scoring a single run in the first inning on an RBI double off the left field fence from Tyler Newsom, the Panthers chased Saints starter Andy Clarke from the mound in the second frame, sending 13 hitters to the plate, banging out eight hits and securing a 9-1 lead.
Austin Hart led off the inning with a bloop single to right field and scored two runs in the frame after drawing a base on balls in his second at-bat. Following an excellent diving catch by Saints leftfielder Daniel Yeary for the first out of the inning, Fleming County starting pitcher Robert Workman singled to left-center, freshman catcher Zach McRoberts singled to drive in the first run, and freshman shortstop Joe Hunt laced a run-scoring double into the gap in right-center field.
Panther first baseman Daniel Harmon followed with an inside-the-park three-run home run over the rightfielder's head, and after Clarke retired Chris Smoot on a pop-up to the shortstop, Newsom reached on an infield single, Matthew Jolly lined a base hit to left-center, and Hart walked to load the bases.
Fleming County centerfielder Andrew "Red" Earlywine cleared the bases with a triple down the left field line, and St. Patrick coach Mallory Denham made a pitching change, opting for lefthander Jon Stwarka, who escaped further damage in the second.
Fleming County coach Brad Price was glad to see his club come back with a win after a tough loss on the road at Morgan County the previous day.
"We've been having trouble putting the ball in play when we have runners in scoring position," said Price. "Our bats have been struggling but today we hit the ball hard. Daniel and Red both got big hits when we needed them today."
The Panthers, who evened their record to 11-11, tacked on three runs in the third, and added a pair in the fourth as well. The key hits in the third were a triple in the left-center field gap from Smoot and a run-scoring single from Hart. Ryan Jackson's double to deep right-center field was the big blow of the fourth.
The Saints answered with three runs of their own in the fourth inning on a two-out, bases loaded triple into the gap in right-center field from Clarke off Panthers reliever Clay Hampton, who walked a pair and hit a batter to load the bases. The freshman righthander finished the game by striking out the final two hitters he faced and left two runners stranded in the fifth inning to end the game.
"Clay came in and threw well," Price said. "Robert had one rough inning and our young pitchers are still learning. If he can take care of his control, he can be a dominant pitcher in the area in the future."
Fleming County's next scheduled game is on Friday when they will meet Bourbon County at Panther Field. The hard-luck Saints, who dropped their 10th consecutive game, return to action the same day at Bracken County.
St. Patrick 010 30 4 4 3
Fleming Co. 183 2X 14 13 1
WP -- Workman, LP -- Clarke.
Hitting leaders: SP: (Stwarka R; Clarke 1-2, 3B, 3RBI; Owens 1-2; Anderson 1-3; Yeary 1-3; Gallenstein R; Thomas R). FC: (Hunt 2-2, 2B, 2R, RBI; Harmon 1-2, HR, 2R, 3RBI; Jackson 1-1, 2B, R; Smoot 1-3, 3B, R, RBI; Newsom 2-2, 2B, R, RBI; Jolly 1-2, R; Hart 2-3, 2R, RBI; Earlywine 1-2, 3B, 3RBI; Workman 1-2; McRoberts 1-3, R, RBI.)
Records: St. Patrick 1-14, Fleming County 11-11.
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