Grizzlies score 16, bury Diggers
Lopsided win propels Fruitland to title game
By Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Sunday, May 18, 2008 4:36 AM PDT
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| Fruitland pitcher Tyson Flannery (middle) receives a flip from teammate Zack Fabricius (rear) and beats Sugar-Salem’s Jon Hepworth to the bag during the first inning of their semifinal game Friday in Ontario. Flannery allowed four hits and struck out five in his six innings of work to lead Fruitland to the 16-1 win. |
Ontario - The drive to get Fruitland senior Jay Sutton his ever-elusive championship ring is just one win away.
Nine different Grizzlies notched hits and nine different players drove in runs to lead Fruitland to a 16-1 win over Sugar-Salem in semifinal round action at the 3A state baseball tournament in Fruitland.
Instead of the usual extra-base hit barrage, the Grizzly faithful is accustomed to, the Grizzlies used small ball and wild pitches to do the trick.
Fruitland notched 11 singles, three sacrifices, stole 12 bases and scored runs on four wild pitches.
“They try to pride themselves on being able to do a whole lot of things. Our guys should be able to bunt, push and do things. Also we can hit the ball in the gap if we get the opportunity,” Fruitland head coach Russ Wright said.
Sutton was the catalyst to the Grizzly attack, going 1-for-1 with four walks, three runs scored, three stolen bases and an RBI.
Once again, the Grizzlies used a furious first inning to dampen the spirits of the Diggers.
Fruitland sent nine batters to the plate, notched five hits and scored three of the five runs on wild pitches.
“It’s really important to get a good start,” Caleb Crim said. “You want to put them away in the first couple of innings.”
Tyson Flannery kicked in an RBI sacrifice fly and Nick Varriale capped the frame with an RBI single.
Fruitland added a run in the second, one in the fourth, three in the fifth and led 10-0 heading into the home half of the fifth.
Sugar-Salem finally broke through on Fruitland pitcher Tyson Flannery with a run to make the score 10-1.
The one run proved to be costly for the Diggers, as the Grizzlies posted six runs in the top of the sixth.
In the inning, Fruitland sent 11 batters to the plate, rattled of five hits and emptied the bench against Sugar-Salem relievers Brandon Fleming and Alec Weaver.
Fruitland senior Will Wright notched an RBI single, fellow senior Ron Hurrle added an RBI single and RJ Edwards capped the fruitful inning with an RBI fielder’s choice.
Kaleo Nawahine went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored and Crim chipped in two hits and two runs scored, to spearhead Fruitland’s 14-hit attack.
“We have been playing the way we have all year,” Fruitland’s Kyle Blackwell said. “We’re working hard and having fun. We just do what coach Wright has been telling us the beginning of the year. You just play with your head down all season and keep looking down and at the end of the season, you can look up, take a deep breath and say ‘where did that get us.’”
Flannery tossed six innings, allowed four hits and struck out five to earn the win.
Reliever Nate Bake entered in the sixth frame for an inning of mop-up work and struck out the side.
