WC hands Pearl 11-0 pounding|[4/10/06]
Published 12:00 am Monday, April 10, 2006
Pearl’s pitchers found themselves in a catch-22 on Saturday.
They had trouble finding the strike zone, but when they did put the ball over the plate Warren Central’s hitters hammered it.
Jonathan Ettinger went 2-for-2 with a triple, three RBIs and three runs scored, Ben Koestler drove in three runs with a double, and WC dispatched Pearl with a ruthlessly efficient 11-0 victory.
The game ended by the mercy rule after just five innings and 1 hour and 20 minutes. The Vikings (16-6) collected eight hits, took advantage of five walks and two hit batsmen, and plated 11 of the 17 runners they got on base. Two others were thrown out at third base.
“It took longer for us to drive over here than it did to play the game,” Pearl (14-8) coach Rick Clarke said. “Too many things hurt us today.”
Chief among them was an erratic performance by pitchers Stephen Byrd and Taylor Bates.
Byrd started and walked three batters, hit two more, and allowed seven runs in a little over an inning of work. After the Vikings took a 2-0 lead on him in the first inning, he started the second by walking the first two batters and hitting Sean Elliott to load the bases.
Nick Carson then made it 3-0 with an RBI single, and Ettinger cleared the bases with his triple to the fence in left-center. Ettinger later scored on a passed ball to make it 7-0, and Byrd gave way to Bates, who didn’t fare any better.
Bates did get out of the second-inning jam but got into trouble with two outs in the third. After retiring the first two WC hitters, Bates walked Carson and Eric Douglas, and allowed a single to Ettinger to load the bases.
Josh Gordon drew another walk, bringing in a run, before Koestler doubled down the left field line to clear the bases and give the Vikings an 11-0 lead. Koestler was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple for the final out of the inning.
“The meat of our lineup didn’t get good pitches to hit. The guys in front of them, Jonathan and Ben, got their pitches and did what they were supposed to do with them,” WC coach Randy Broome said.
With a secure lead, Carson was just as tough on Pearl’s batters as he was on their pitchers.
The senior right-hander scattered three hits, walked two and struck out two to earn the shutout. He didn’t allow a runner past second base and was never in any serious trouble.