West End gets a breath of Airin

July 13, 2009|By CONNER GILBERT/Staff Correspondent

When a pitcher is at his best, he's like a riddle with no answer.

Sharpsburg couldn't solve West End pitcher Airin Martin on Monday, losing 13-3 at West End Little League in the Maryland District 1 11-12 Tournament winners' bracket semifinal.

"Airin threw a fine game," said West End manager Bill Nutter. "He's very talented."

Sharpsburg opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. Dalton Stewart scored on a single before Adam McDonald and Alex Wetzel scored on an infield error to give Sharpsburg a 3-0 lead.

But Martin, who took the mound with two outs in the bottom of the first, was in control for the remainder of the game.

"We got off to a good start," said Sharpsburg manager Ronnie Stewart. "Then we ran into a buzzsaw."

Martin pitched 5 1/3 innings, striking out 11 batters while allowing three hits and no walks.

"When Airin came in, he did his usual job," said Nutter. "Throughout the game, he still had all of his great stuff."

West End used a big second inning to grab the lead. Back-to-back home runs by Caleb Demottez and Brady Nutter started the rally, followed by Dylan Bickford's run-scoring bunt and Cody Reeder's steal of home. West End scored four more runs on two errors, a wild pitch and Martin's RBI single to take an 8-3 lead.

In the third, West End scored another run when Reeder came home on a wild pitch to make it 9-3.

West End tacked on three more runs in the fourth. Jeremy Washington drew a bases-loaded walk to plate Demottez before Bickford lined a two-run single to left field, making it 12-3.

In the sixth, West End added a run on Reeder's solo homer to left field to take a 13-3 advantage.

"We played a team game tonight, whether it was on defense or putting down a bunt," said Nutter. "Baseball is a thinking man's game."

Sharpsburg hosts Hancock today, while West End will host Conococheague. Both games are at 6 p.m.

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