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Westover Patriots VARSITY
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From the Sports Page
Check out: Baseball Tips & Drills by eteamz. e-mail me ~ Mike Brown
Albany Herald Sports 4-13-04
Albany turns its focus to region
JAMIE BROOKS
ALBANY Sure the Westover Patriots pounded out 13 hits in a 13-1 victory in six innings over the Albany Indians on Monday, but Albany coach Tom Rosati was already looking forward to today's GHSA Region 1-AA matchup against Terrell County after the game.
"Westover beat us in a non-region game," Albany coach Tom Rosati said, "and we just have to get ready for Terrell County and make sure we win our region games."
With Jason Blackstock having already pitched last Friday in a 13-strikeout performance and Greg Schmitz pitching for the Indians today, Rosati decided to go with Blake Alloman on the mound.
Alloman didn't fare so well, giving up all 13 hits and all 13 runs but still earned praise from Rosati, as well as Westover coach Steve Bowers.
"That kid from Albany finally got tired of it," Bowers said. "He didn't really have his defense playing well behind him, and from the third inning to the fifth inning, he shut us down and just did an excellent job."
Bowers went with senior Quin Wright on the mound, and Wright fared a little better than his counterpart, pitching six innings and striking out six Albany batters. Wright gave up just four hits, with the Indians' only run coming off an error by second baseman Caleb Horton.
Quin's younger brother, Drew, went 3-for-5 for the Patriots, and Richie Ely finished the day with three RBI.
"It would have been nice to have a shutout, but a win is really what I wanted," Quin Wright said. "I'm glad Drew hit like that. He hit well. I just wish I could say the same about my hitting."
With his team already leading 4-0 after the first inning, Ely doubled down the left-field line, bringing around two runs to add to the Patriots' lead.
"We need to get back to being serious here at Albany High," Rosati said. "Whether it's summer baseball, or anything like that, we just need all of our players to get serious here again."
Copyright © 2000-2003 The Albany Herald Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
Albany Herald Sports 4-8-04
Big first inning leads to Westover's downfall
Seminole County jumps out to a 3-0 lead and holds off Westover.
TRAVIS MORSE
ALBANY They may be just a single-A team, but they don't play like it.
The Seminole County Indians (11-4) proved that on Wednesday, as they out dueled the Westover High Patriots 4-2 at the Paul Eames Sports Complex.
"I thought it was a great game," Westover coach Steve Bowers said. "Seminole is not a slouch, they are probably one of the best 1-A teams in the state."
Other than a shaky start in which he allowed three runs, Westover starting pitcher Nolan Brown was solid. The sophomore allowed only one more run the rest of the way a home run off the bat of Seminole leadoff batter and starting pitcher Shawn Kirkland. Brown allowed four runs on four hits while striking out eight.
"(Brown) was excellent," Bowers said. "He got a little rattled, but after that, he shut them down."
Kirkland was also effective. The right-hander spent most of the contest overpowering the Westover lineup with a fastball around 85 mph. Kirkland allowed two runs on three hits while striking out eight in six innings.
Westover's biggest threat came in the second inning. After Josh Cauley led off with a double, Kirkland walked Drew Wright and beaned Brown. Richie Ely then reached base courtesy of a dropped ball by Seminole first baseman Keon White, which scored Cauley. Kirkland then walked Caleb Horton, which scored Wright from third. Kirkland then got Shawn Grafius to ground into a 4-6-3 double play that ended the Westover threat.
"I was proud of the way we put the ball in play against some good pitching," Bowers said. "We waited on our pitch, and then put it in play."
Other than the quality of pitching the Patriots saw, the Patriots had to deal with an Indian team that was all too familiar with picking off base runners. In fact, the Indians picked off two Patriots in scoring position that ended threats in the fifth and seventh innings, which Bowers referred to as "youth mistakes."
The Patriots will be back in action today against GHSA Region 1-AAA foe Thomasville. The Patriots will send sophomore Drew Wright to the mound. Bowers believes that the Patriots will do fine in the region contest.
"If we play like we did (Wednesday), then we'll be fine," Bowers said. "We just need to keep putting the ball in play."
Copyright © 2000-2003 The Albany Herald Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
Albany Herald Sports 4-7-04
Westover comes alive for key victory
Trailing 4-0, Westover comes back to defeat Monroe 16-5.
JAMIE BROOKS
ALBANY Westover coach Steve Bowers didn't want to face the Monroe Tornadoes again.
Joe Bellacomo
With a loss on Tuesday, the Patriots would have tied Monroe for the fourth playoff spot in GHSA Region 1-AAA and would have had to win the rest of their region games to make the playoffs.
The Patriots, though, made things less complicated, defeating Monroe 16-5 in five innings. Westover fell behind 4-0 in the second inning.
"I didn't want our team to have to go play them again," Bowers said. "Monroe is a scrappy bunch, and they're gonna win some games, and we just didn't want to have to go and play them again."
Jeremiah Brown started things off for Monroe in the top of the second, singling to right field to score the Tornadoes' initial run. By the end of the inning, Monroe had stretched its lead to 4-0.
Things would soon change for Monroe in the bottom of the fourth.
After Wesley Hinson led the inning off with a double, Jesse Reed grounded to Monroe third baseman Kevin Walker who proceeded to throw it over the first baseman's head to spark a 14-run inning.
"That fourth inning was really big for us," Westover starter Quin Wright said. "We realized when the game started that our season and the playoffs were pretty much on the line, and we stepped it up."
Wright, a senior, pitched the full five innings, giving up only one earned run and scattering four hits, while his brother, Drew, a sophomore, went 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Monroe starting pitcher Mark Hawks started the bottom of the fourth inning, having only given up two hits and no runs.
By the time Hawks was taken out of the game, it was still the bottom of the fourth, there were no outs in the inning, and Hawks had given up seven runs on five hits as Westover took a 7-4 lead and never looked back.
"We responded very well," Bowers said. "We talked as a team Sunday, and we knew we had to go and play hard to keep our chances in the region up, and our seniors took over the game and got timely hits."
Copyright © 2000-2003 The Albany Herald Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
Albany Herald Sports 3-25-04
Dougherty wins in eight innings
After going winless in 2003, Dougherty is now 3-5 on this season.
TRAVIS MORSE
ALBANY This year has started a lot better for the Dougherty High School baseball team.
After a winless season in 2003, the Trojans are just two games below .500 after they squeaked past the Westover High Patriots, 3-2, in eight innings Wednesday at the Paul Eames Sports Complex.
Trojan starting pitcher Curtis Lewis was called upon to silence the Patriots. The right-hander went the distance, allowing two runs on four hits in the first six innings and the eighth. Larry Mitchell relieved Lewis in the seventh and got the Trojans out of a jam.
"Lewis throws strikes, lets the other teams put the ball in play, and lets his defense work behind him," Dougherty coach Dexter Malone said. "What more can I ask out of him?"
With the win, Dougherty (3-5) will get set to battle Mitchell-Baker today. The Eagles are a team the Trojans beat earlier this season.
"My word for this team is patience," Malone said. "As long as we stay patient, we have a chance to win."
The Patriots, who struggled with laying down bunts in Tuesday's game against Bainbridge, improved their bunting skills. However, they couldn't muster any consistency at the plate. The Patriots also needed timely hits several times in the game, but came up on the short end.
"Aside from the pitching performance, and the much better job we did with the bunts," Westover coach Steve Bowers said, "we struggled in every other phase of the game."
Westover's Drew Wright was on the losing end of the pitcher's duel, yet he may have been the best pitcher on the field. Other than a dropped fly ball in the first inning and back-to-back errors in the fourth, Wright would have finished with a shutout. The key to Wright's performance was a tricky curveball, unless he left it up in the strike zone.
"He did an excellent job," Bowers said. "He pitched well enough to get the win."
The Patriots (6-5) will travel to Fitzgerald on Friday for the first GHSA Region 1-AAA contest of the season. Bowers believes the success of this year's team belongs in the hands of the Patriots' sophomores. Some of the sophomores include pitchers Wright and Nolan Brown, who should get numerous opportunities on the hill during the upcoming region schedule.
"They are carrying this team," Bowers said.
Copyright © 2000-2003 The Albany Herald Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
Albany Herald Sports 3-24-04
Patriots stumble against Bearcats
Westover drops a 4-2 baseball decision to the Bainbridge Bearcats.
TRAVIS MORSE
ALBANY One word could describe the difference between Westover and Bainbridge on Wednesday at the Paul Eames Sports Complex execution.
Two words could describe Westover's performance poor execution.
Despite solid pitching efforts from sophomore Nolan Brown and Quinn Wright, the Patriots dropped a 4-2 decision to Bainbridge. Brown and the defense never got on the same page in bunt coverage, as the Bearcats recorded four bunt singles in the first three innings, which eventually led to three runs.
"The bottom line is we didn't execute bunts on either side," Westover coach Steve Bowers said. "We couldn't lay them down, or cover them."
Brown allowed three runs on eight hits in four innings and managed to pitch out of jams in the first and second innings. After a leadoff triple allowed to Bainbridge's Zac Maxwell, Brown got two outs and looked to strand Maxwell at third until Jeff Horne poked a single over the head of Westover shortstop Drew Wright. Ron Fowler and Wesley Hinson then added back-to-back singles to give the Bearcats the 3-0 advantage.
Westover answered in the bottom of the frame when Ricory Green and Jessie Reed scored on singles by teammates Ben Davis and Richie Ely to cut the Bainbridge lead to 3-2.
The Patriots, though, couldn't muster any more offense at the plate.
"We were impatient at the plate," Bowers said. "We swung at some bad pitches and helped their guy out."
Davis led the Patriots' offense by going 2-for-2 with a double and RBI. Curtis Weaver led Bainbridge by going 2-for-4 with a triple and a run scored, while Beau Parker also went 2-for-4 with two singles.
Copyright © 2000-2003 The Albany Herald Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Albany Herald 3-10-04
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Westover keeps Dougherty Winless
SCOTT CHANCEY
ALBANY At the first of the season, Dougherty High School's baseball team struggled with its pitching. On Tuesday, the Trojans struggled with their fielding.
Sooner or later, Dougherty coach Dexter Malone hopes everything will come together. In Tuesday's game against Westover, his team committed eight errors and lost 12-4 at the Paul Eames Sports Complex.
"Our pitching was much better," said Malone, whose team's record dropped to 0-3. "If we can make the routine plays like we should, we'll get better on that end, too."
A base hit in the top of the second by Wesley Hinson got past Trojans left-fielder Anthony Mosley, enabling Henson to advance to third. Ken Wood hit a two-run single later in the inning, and another run scored on a Caleb Horton sacrifice fly to give Westover a 3-2 lead.
With the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, Dougherty had a chance to turn an inning-ending forceout at second and stay within one run. However, second baseman Terrence Cheeks lost control of the ball after shortstop Ronnye Nelson flipped it to him. Two runs scored and made it 5-2.
Westover's biggest rally was in the top of the seventh inning when it stretched its 5-3 lead to 12-3. In that half of the inning, Westover had four hits including a two-RBI triple by Richie Ely, a double by Wood and an RBI double by Drew Wright. Dougherty committed four errors during that stretch.
Westover coach Steve Bowers wasn't as impressed with his team's stretches on offense as he was with the Patriots' pitching. He started with Wright, who was relieved by Nolan Brown. Combined, the two sophomores allowed five hits.
"Considering they were sophomores, they did an outstanding job," Bowers said of Wright and Brown.
Copyright © 2000-2003 The Albany Herald Publishing Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
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