Hagerstown Colt teams pass test

'A' beats 'C'

July 24, 2006|by JACK HILL III / Staff Correspondent

It was an all-Hagerstown showdown in the championship game of the Colt League Region Tournament on Sunday, and Hagerstown 'A' survived a tough battle to defeat Hagerstown 'C', 14-9.

Hagerstown 'A' finished 3-0 in the tournament and advances to the Zone Tournament at Memorial Stadium in Greensboro, N.C. Hagerstown will play Greensboro on Thursday at 8 p.m.

"First of all, I would like to say that we have a lot of respect for Hagerstown 'C'," Hagerstown 'A' manager Brad Himeman said. "Our game plan was that we had to outhit them. We knew that one of our strengths was going to be hitting. ... From top to bottom, our lineup has good bats."

Hagerstown 'A' catcher Noon Jordan finished with three hits and three RBI in the championship.

"I was just glad that we made it here and stuck together as a team," Jordan said. "We came through when it counted. We put the ball in play wherever we needed it. ... Our defense came together and stopped them when we needed it."

Brandon Knight and David Bowen finished with three RBI each, while Alex Zoretich added two RBI for Hagerstown 'A'.

Knight had three hits, while Nathan Harden and Bowen had two hits each. Reliever Chris Jackson gave up one run in 2 2/3 innings to earn the win.

Tim Leather had three hits and three RBI, while Dustin Smith had two hits for Hagerstown 'C'.

"I had a good group of kids," Hagerstown 'C' manager Brian McLucas said. "We have played a lot of games in the last week-and-a-half. We just ran out of pitching.

"The best part was that there was two Hagerstown teams in the championship game. I am proud of our team for how far they have come."

Hagerstown 'A' held a 7-2 lead after three innings before Hagerstown 'C' scored four in the fourth to narrow the gap to 7-6, and almost added the tying run when Leather collided with Jordan at home, but Jordan held on to the ball for the out.

Undaunted, Hagerstown 'C' scored three runs in the fifth to take a 9-7 lead.

Hagerstown 'A' answered back with five runs in the bottom half to go back on top, 12-9. After Bowen drew a bases-loaded walk, Knight delivered a two-run single to give Hagerstown 'A' the lead for good. Bowen came home on a wild pitch and Knight scored on Zoretich's groundout.

Bowen added a two-run single in the sixth to give Hagerstown 'A' the final margin of victory at 14-9.

Hagerstown 'C' (2-2) defeated Mount Lebanon 8-5 earlier Sunday to reach the championship game.

In Saturday night's late game, Hagerstown 'A' beat Hagerstown 'C' 16-6 in six innings.

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