Published: May 11, 2008 01:56 pm            

Somerset downs Warriors

Somerset — The Cumberland Valley Bank Classic kicked into gear early Saturday, with cross-town rivals Somerset and Southwestern squaring off in a brunch time affair. After dealing with the rain for most of the week, the field condition both teams had to worry about most was the morning dew, as the starting time was….(yawwwnn)…10 a.m.! Nevertheless, there was a good crowd on hand, and by the time the sun had reached its apex, Somerset was polishing off a well-played 9-3 win over the Warriors.

“I was pleased with the way we played,” said Somerset Head Coach Phillip Grundy, whose team moved to 15-11 with the win. But things looked a little dicey for the Jumpers starting pitcher, Corey Price, in pre-game warm-ups. The senior suffered a hip flexor and with the help of the staff was able to get himself loosened up enough to play through the injury.

“Corey struggled for a few innings,” said Grundy, “But he gutted it out. I think he did a great job. That’s two wins for him in 24 hours.” Price picked up the win in relief on Friday night.

The top of the first was the first exhibit in what would be, for the most part, a defensive clinic. With one out, Somerset right fielder Kenny Hughes chased down a long drive off the bat of Aaron Hampton deep in the gap to save extra bases. The next batter, T.T. Wooldridge, hit a corkscrewing grounder into the hole at second. Jumper defender John Cole had to go to the dirt, then twist his torso backward and fire a strike from the ground to retire the speedy Wooldridge for the third out.

In the bottom of the first Cole led off with his trademark: the three-base single. He beat out an infield grounder, stole second, and then stole third. Senior Adam Wallen singled him in to give the Jumpers a 1-0 lead.

After adding an unearned run in the second, Somerset added three more in the third. Cole again led off the inning with a hit and two steals and scored on a sacrifice fly by Wallen. Then big Kenny Hughes ripped a two-run homer into the right field parking lot to push the lead to 5-0.

“Somerset’s got a nice team,” said Southwestern Head Coach Rod McAninch. “They have great team speed and that caused us to hurry some things early on. Their first three were really good at getting someone on, getting them over, and getting them in. I felt like they controlled what Hampton was doing on the mound, instead of him making them adjust to what he was doing. Those kinds of things are youthful mistakes you see from our sophomores at times.

“But you really have to give them credit. They made some great defensive plays early on that took away some great scoring opportunities.”

One such play was a second inning grab by Somerset center fielder Jeremy Toohey, who speared a deep drive that was over his head and headed for the wall. The catch saved at least one run on the inning for the Jumpers.

“That was a great catch by Toohey,” said Grundy. “And our infield played well too. I thought Erik Manning held down the shortstop position really well in this game.”

Unfortunately for Toohey, who was hit in the wrist by a pitch Friday night, he took another pitch off almost the exact same spot on Saturday. For the second straight game, Toohey left the game for X-rays.

After shutting down the Warriors on only one hit through the first four innings, Corey Price was suddenly very hittable in the fifth. Lefty first baseman Isaac Claywell led off the inning by launching a home run to right field to break up the shutout. Zach Fowler followed with a deep double, and after a long out by Dustin Hughes, Tyler Mayer hit one deep in the outfield gap to score Fowler and cut the Jumper lead to 5-2.

“Southwestern swung the bats well and made some great defensive plays,” said Grundy. No defensive play was better than the one leading off the bottom of the fifth.

John Cole led off the inning for the third time in the game in the bottom of the fifth, which, if you’re a Somerset fan, is a dream come true. His first two times he singled and scored, and was heading for a third straight single. But his line drive to left was caught by a diving Austin Roush. The play, as the inning would unfold, saved at least one run for the Warriors.

In the sixth it was Warrior right fielder Josh Wilson who took his turn at home run derby as he parked one over the left field fence, cutting the lead down to 5-3.

But things came apart for Southwestern in the bottom of the sixth. Somerset turned a single, double, a walk, a hit batsmen, two errors, a catcher’s interference, and a grounder behind the runners into a four-run inning. Price would retire the Warriors in order in the seventh and Somerset would walk away with a 9-3 victory.

“Last night it was the freshmen who stepped up big for us,” said Grundy. “Today it was our seniors who played big. If they continue to play like this, and we can get Adam (Wallen) back to 100%, I believe we’re once again a team that can contend for the regional title.”

“Every season has its ups and downs,” said McAninch. “I believe we’ve hit a bit of a trough right now. But we’ll come out of it. This was good for us today to get a look at Somerset, one of the contenders in the region. We’ve been on the road a lot lately, and this is the first time we’ve played them. But we’ve got them next week at our place, and we’ll just have to see if we can get them the second time around.”

Southwestern is the #1 seed in the upcoming 48th District Tournament. Their record fell to 16-11 with the loss.



SW 000 021 0 — 3 5 3

SHS 113 004 x — 9 9 0





Southwestern—

Hampton 4IP, 4ER, 5R, 6K, 3BB

Edwards 2IP, 2ER, 4R, 4H, 0K, 1BB, 1HBP





2B—Fowler, Mayer

HR—Claywell, Wilson

RBI—Claywell, Mayer, Wilson



Somerset—

Price 7IP, 3ER, 3R, 5H, 3K, 2BB





2B—Wallen

HR—Hughes

SB—Cole 4, Sears 2, Wallen 2, Fitzpatrick

RBI—Wallen 2, Hughes 2, Cole, Ch. Hall, E. Manning

        

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