 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
School Sports
|
Friday, May 09, 2008, 11:02 AM
Warriors bounce Bertie By Tom Ham | Senior Staff Writer WINDSOR -- Visiting Hunt High executed the game plan almost to the final detail in ending Bertie's season with an 8-2 victory in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A baseball playoffs Thursday evening. The Warriors, No. 3 from the Eastern Carolina Conference, came out aggressively, forging a 6-0 lead after two innings. The cushion enabled first-year head coach Jon Smith to limit starting pitcher Justin Nygard to a planned pitch count. Then, senior right-hander Blake Jones came in from first base to hurl the final 2 2/3 innings. Nygard and Jones combined to limit the Falcons to four hits and a pair of unearned runs. Thus, pitchers Zack Lee and Jake Strickland will be available next week. "We came out with good intensity," said Jones, who batted 3 for 4 with a triple and drove in four runs. "Coach wanted us to come out, score runs in the first inning and get on them early. We did that. I'm proud of the boys." Added Smith: "We wanted to compete from the start because I knew they had a good pitcher. Blake had a big hit (run-scoring triple in the top of the first inning) that got us going. Then, the hitting became contagious." Hunt triumphed in the opening round of the playoffs for the second straight year and hiked its record to 16-9. The Warriors' next test will be against the D.H. Conley-Burlington Williams winner early next week. Bertie, the No. 2 3-A representative from the 3-A/2-A Northeastern Coastal Conference, bowed out with an 8-16 mark. "Hunt got some hits and we booted the ball around a little bit," noted veteran Bertie head coach Randy Whitaker. "That gave them the momentum they needed. But I am proud of the way the guys played -- they didn't quit." Bertie had just 12 players available and, said Whitaker, was missing two starters for various reasons. Nygard, mixing his fastball with a biting breaking pitch and changeup, shackled Bertie on three hits in 4 1/3 innings. The senior right-hander (7-2) walked one and struck out five in notching the first playoff win of his career. "Coach wanted to keep my pitch count low and have me ready for next week," Nygard said of his sudden exit in the fifth. Smith noted Nygard threw just 62 pitches. "That's about the same as a normal bullpen session for him," Hunt's head coach added. "He can pitch in relief next week or maybe start. We'll have to make that decision." Bertie did not advance a baserunner beyond second base until averting the shutout in the seventh. That's when the Warriors committed two of their three errors and sophomore Bryce Cullipher singled for Bertie's only hit in the inning. In the Hunt half of the first inning, sophomore shortstop Lee opened the game with a single, stole second base and trotted home on Jones' triple, a shot just inside the first-base line. Lee scored on a balk. Falcons senior right-hander Brent Bowen, who started and pitched in relief, was victimized by two errors and a passed ball in the second. Hunt junior center fielder Jerome Richardson doubled and Jones, Nygard and senior designated hitter Alex Howard each singled. In the sixth, Hunt loaded the bases on walks and first baseman Russell Ward and Lee both scampered home on Jones' infield single. Whitaker had watched Hunt play once previously this season and remarked: "They hit the ball better tonight than they did earlier in the year. And with Nygard on the mound ... he's going to throw strikes. They've got a chance to win a few games." Smith also intended to send sophomore right-hander Sam Strickland to the mound, but explained: "Sam's arm has been tender, and we shied away from doing that." Now, the young coach will gladly develop another game plan. "At this point, a win is a win," Smith declared. "We'll take it and move on." hammer@wilsontimes.com | 265-7809
|
|
|
|
