Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 4, 1994 TAG: 9406040053
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
C.D. Hylton right-hander Jon Hand kept Franklin County off-balance Friday night at W.W. Naff Jr. Field.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs made the most of their run-scoring opportunities.
And Hylton captured its first Northwest Region baseball championship with a 7-1 victory over the Eagles.
Both teams move on to Group AAA state tournament play June 10. Franklin County (18-5) will visit Northern Region champion West Potomac, an 8-3 winner over West Springfield.
Hylton (22-1), winner of 21 consecutive games, will entertain West Springfield.
Hand (11-0) was in control throughout the game. Even though Hand had only one 1-2-3 inning, Franklin County did not have many scoring chances. The Eagles did not have a runner reach second base until the fourth inning and did not have two runners on base until the fifth.
"It was definitely moving tonight, and I kept it down," Hand said of his pitching. "I just kept my composure [when runners reached]. The crowd was very loud - they've got a lot of support here. But I kept my composure, threw strikes and let my defense do the work."
Hand finished one out short of becoming the first pitcher to shut out the Eagles. A two-out error followed by two hits, including an RBI single by Chad Foutz, pushed across the run for Franklin County.
"He was mixing it up out there," said Foutz, whose three hits were half of the Eagles' total. "It seemed that everyone was trying to catch up with one swing [of the bat]. But the team didn't give up, we're battlers. Things just didn't work out for us today."
Said F.L. Slough, Franklin County's coach: "Through 23 games, we haven't been shut out. I thought the first time was going to be tonight. But we get 21 outs and we were able to make something happen."
Hylton got the all the runs it would need in the first inning. With one out and runners on second and third, Sammy Serrano singled sharply, bringing home David Bassett, who had singled.
"I tried to hit the ball in the right-field gap to bring the run home," Serrano said. "I wanted to get the RBI single to get us off to a good start."
Then, when Franklin County catcher Riley Hodges tried to pick Serrano off first, the throw went into right field. That allowed Hand, who had reached on a fielder's choice, to score the second run.
The fielding miscue foreshadowed the defensive problems the Eagles would endure. They committed four errors, leading to four unearned runs for Hylton.
by CNB