‘A’ Stars advance to state
Johnson pitches a gem in 9-0 win
By Argus Observer sports staff
Monday, July 27, 2009 4:33 PM PDT
Boise — Treasure Valley ‘A’ Stars pitcher Reed Johnson pitched a gem, and his offense gave him more than enough support during the American Legion ‘A’ Division state play-in game agianst Kuna Saturday at Hawks Memorial Stadium in Boise.
The Stars compiled 16 hits on offense and pounded Kuna, 9-0.
Johnson threw less than 65 pitches over seven innings to pick up the win.
“Reed was really good today,” Stars head coach Russ Wright said. “He had seven one-pitch outs and at least five two-pitch outs for us today.”
Johnson did not walk a batter in the win and gave up only three hits while striking out eight.
The Stars plated four runs in the top of the first inning and bookended that with five runs in the top of the seventh inning.
“In those middle innings, we had opportunities to score,” Wright said. “Twice we had the bases loaded and could not score. We were hitting the ball right at them when we had scoring opportunities.”
In the third inning the Stars had the sacks full and had two runners thrown out at the plate.
With the win the Stars advance to the state tournament as the No. 3 seed from area B. The single A state tournament will be played in Orofino and begins on Wednesday.
Leading the team on offense was Joe Martarano, who went 4-for-4 with an RBI. Johnson, Miguel Rios and Jake Mellenthin all drove in two runs in the win.
“I am really proud of the the team,” Wright said. “They all played very well.”
