Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Daily Pooch Punt: 3/26/08
When he slapped R.E. Lee leadoff man Ryan Shull with an inside pitch, you could have heard the collective groan of Giantdom from the other side of Afton Mountain.
But Waynesboro starter Jeremy Hahn quickly recovered, induced two Lee batters into easy outs and took care of another himself with his first strikeout of the game.
You heard the sigh after that wacky, wild first inning that began somewhere in the third circle of hell for Hahn, but by the seventh the Giants were in heaven with their second straight Southern Valley win and the added boost of confidence that comes with it.
“If we play our ‘A’ game, I don’t think anybody is going to touch us,” Hahn said after his seven strikeout, two-hit performance in Tuesday’s 5-1 win over the Leemen.
How’s that for swagger, coach?
The most important thing about Tuesday’s win, and trust us, pitching on this team is going to be pretty darn important, was the lack of errors. After a two-game total of nine errors last week, the Little Giants were flawless in the field Tuesday. Though veteran coach Jim Critzer, in so many words, told everybody to keep their pants on when it came to jumping on the defensive-problems-had-been-fixed bandwagon. Hahn’s new-look, off-speed pitch got six Leemen to fly out and the pitcher took care of most of the rest — picking off a runner at first to go with his seven Ks.
“I think he did a great job,” Critzer said of Hahn. “He did a whale of a job the other night against Spotswood. He was cruising in that game …” Until, well, we all know what happened there.
And another thing: With the addition of the off-speed pitch (thanks to some off-season work with former Waynesboro MLBer Reggie Harris), Hahn is quickly finding it to be his favorite. “I go to it more than my curve ball now,” he said. “It’s good now. It’s in there. That’s my pitch.”
A pitch that sent Shull to first when Hahn plopped him to open the game. “Shully, I know, struggles with the off-speed,” Hahn said, “so I was figuring I was going to get an off-speed call, but I got a fastball call so I was changing it up in my grip and it just slipped out my hands, got away from me.”
Few pitches got away from him the rest of the way.
Wouldn’t you like to have this problem? Critzer has three catchers to choose from, all of which, he says, are pretty even when it comes to defense. So the veteran skipper, who is looking for some extra pop in his lineup, has decided that the sticks may decide who gets to set up shop behind the plate. “We’re going to find out who swings the bat,” he said.
Jordan Weatherholtz, Jimmy Eavers and Kendall Wolfe, your table is ready.
Another problem you’d like to have: Hahn starts to get tired in the sixth inning and, when he started getting tired, “he starts getting the ball up,” Critzer said. So the coach brings in Joseph Lucas, you know, the kid whose older brother played a sport or two before he left for Clemson (or so we’ve heard) and was a dangerous lead-off man for the Giants (at least that’s what people tell us), and he strikes out three in the ninth (including freezing Lee’s Chandis Geoff) to end the game.
A problem Southern Valley opponents are going to have: Jay Thompson drove in a run with a triple to the wall then, in his next at bat, brought another run home with a double. Surprise, surprise, he walked in his third at bat.
Yeah, a lot of coaches would like to have those problems.
Hey, look who kicked in three goals and helped Wilson Memorial boys soccer win its first match of the season. Then, Josh Miller (despite those three goals, remember) shakes the credit off himself and toward the rest of the team. “It’s really everybody,” he said.
Sure, Turner Ashby’s powerhouse softball program (yes, they’re good in that up there as well) hammers away at Stuarts Draft 17-0 and picks up its second no-hitter of the season. And Knights coach Craig Miller says, “We have a different team. We lost a lot of our power, but we have a lot of speed.”
A speedy Turner Ashby softball team? Man, I bet we may have found the one sport that’s happy with the Valley split.
But, then again, if you’re in the Southern Valley, you’re stuck with having to beat Fort Defiance. A team with two returning players — one saddled on the bench with an injury — that’s hasn’t looked too shabby. Oh, and freshman Lindsey Shifflett drove in two runs in the Indians’ 3-0 win over Broadway.
“[Shifflett] is doing really well with her hitting,” said Fort coach Max Hill. Um, yeah. Ya’ think?