Greg Webb
sports@weatherforddemocrat.com
May 05, 2008 03:02 pm
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MINERAL WELLS — The night and day games played by Peaster and Alvord in a pair of 2A, Region 2 Bi-district contests Friday and Saturday at Mineral Wells, were as different as, well, night and day. After a particularly not-too-attractive contest on Friday, in which the Greyhounds trounced Alvord 12-6, a pitcher’s duel emerged Saturday to start the game, pitting Peaster hurler Gage Mitchell against the Bulldogs’ As a Hand, before the Greyhounds scored in three consecutive innings to take the game, and the series, with a 5-2 victory.
After a flyout to left to begin the first game, Peaster left fielder JP Joiner drew a walk and stole second base. Greyhounds pitcher Ethan Murphy then hit a sharp grounder to the Alvord shortstop, which was fielded cleanly and thrown to first. After the putout, the Bulldogs first baseman tried to catch Joiner advancing to third base and overthrew the ball, allowing Joiner to score. Alvord pitcher Trevor Hahn recorded the first of his 11 strikeouts in the game to end the top half of the inning.
The Bulldogs struck back quickly, scoring five runs in the next three frames, aided by Greyhounds errors. In the first, Alvord center fielder Hagen Ward led off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. A single by Clayton Shaw pushed Ward to third, and Colton Oldham picked up the game’s first RBI when his grounder to short forced Shaw at second, but allowed Ward to cross home plate. The Peaster defense stiffened to close out the first inning as Murphy recorded the first of eight strikeouts on the evening and Oldham was caught by Peaster catcher Hayden Dillard trying to steal second.
In the second, after blanking the Greyhounds with three and out, Alvord added two runs after an errant throw to first allowed a base runner, and a misplayed infield fly allowed another. A subsequent single and sacrifice bunt brought the runners home for Alvord.
Peaster evened the contest in the top of the third with Murphy’s 3-run dinger over the left-field wall. The Greyhounds’ Jeremy Etlicher and Devun Gaines had reached with a walk and a single, respectively, when Murphy sent the two-strike pitch out of the ballpark.
Though Alvord answered with a run in the bottom of the third, the offensive flood gates had opened for Peaster as the Greyhounds scored three in the fourth, added a run in the fifth and turned the game into a rout in the seventh, with four more runs. The seven-hit barrage over the four innings were aided by five Bulldogs’ errors.
Peaster, on the other hand, played flawless defense after giving in to three errors in the first two frames. Alvord managed another run in the fifth, but never mounted a valid threat to overtake Peaster’s lead.
On Saturday, the game was scoreless for two and a half frames, when Peaster broke the ice with a Mitchell single, bringing home Dillard, who had reached on a single and stole second. Blanking the Bulldogs in the top of the fourth, Alvord succumbed to a costly error in the bottom frame, as the Greyhounds’ Dusty Russell blooped a single in front of the Alvord left fielder, who misplayed the ball, allowing Blake Radke to score from second base. Russell’s extra base on the error put him in position to score on Dillard’s single.
For the second time in as many games, Murphy, playing at third in game two, sent an Alvord delivery over the left field wall of Rams Stadium. The solo shot to start the fifth inning was the first of two runs in the frame, as Russell netted another RBI with a double, sending Taylor Bennett across home plate for the games final run.
A walk and a single put the tying run at the plate for Alvord in its last gasp, but Mitchell threw two fly balls to left and center, ending the contest.
Peaster moves on to Area play in Region 2 this week, with a series against Grandview, at a time and site to be determined.
Peaster 12, Alvord 6 (Game 1)
Peaster 103 310 4 — 12 9 3
Alvord 221 010 0 — 6 7 7
Murphy and Dillard; Hahn and Houston. WP — Murphy; LP — Hahn. HR — (PHS) Murphy; (AHS) none.
Peaster 5, Alvord 2 (Game 2)
Alvord 000 020 0 — 2 6 2
Peaster 001 220 X — 5 7 2
Hand and Houston; Mitchell and Dillard. WP — Mitchell; LP — Hand. HR — (PHS) Murphy; (AHS) none. 2B — (PHS) Russell; (AHS) Meador.
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