 |
||||
|
||||
 |
||||
|
||||
|
||||
 |
 Photo courtesy mybigshots.com ALEXANDRIA,LA-- Calvary pitchers Gip Hendrix and Randy Zeigler combined to help the Cavaliers win  the state championship with a 3-2 win over a scrappy bunch of Mangham Dragons Saturday night at Bringhurst Field in Alexandria.Hendrix started and picked up the win allowing one hit from Dragon batters while fanning five. Hendrix also helped offensively by hitting a single and a home run. The home run was over the 25-foot fence some 385 feet away. Mangham starter Alan Williams showed mastery at his trade by striking out the first three Cavalier batters he faced, before Hendrix started things off in the second inning with a lead off single. Derek Blankenship doubled to bring in Hendrix for a 1-0 Cavalier lead. Khiry Cooper blasted a triple to begin the third inning heading full-speed to his goal once he saw the ball hit the outfield wall. Zeigler then hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Cooper for a 2-0 Calvary lead. Hendrix followed Zeigler's sac fly with a home run giving the Cavaliers all they needed to take the title game from Mangham. Zeigler came in to pitch three innings scattering four Dragon hits while striking out five. The Calvary southpaw inherited a bases-loaded, nobody out situation when he entered on the mound and managed to escape without allowing a run to cross the plate. Mangham let the ideal opportunity escape them when Thomas Gray struck out swinging from the right side of the plate. Calvary catcher Nick Rome, playing his last game in a Cavalier uniform, caught Karl Wiggers off a little too far at first base and pegged him out with a perfect throw to Craig Rascoe who applied the tag. The next man up for Mangham could not connect safely and the Cavaliers caught a breather from a dangerous situation. Mangham did strike for a pair of runs in the sixth inning on back-to-back singles by Jesse McKay and Williams. Both scored before the inning was over to cut the deficit to only one run. Calvary failed to pick up any runs in the sixth despite Cooper's third hit of the night with two out in the inning. Cooper was caught stealing by McKay who fired a strike to second base from his catcher's position. Mangham tried hard to knot the game in the top of the seventh, but Wiggers went down swinging. However, Thomas Gray took advantage of what the plate umpire said was catcher's interference when the bat made contact with Rome's catcher's mit on a back swing. Gray got a free trip to first on a foul ball which landed near the Dragon dugout. Michael Everitt then singled to put runners at first and second for Mangham. McKay hit a fly to Cooper who had moved to centerfield for the second out of the inning. One hit would at least tie the game for the Dragons and force the Cavaliers to bat in the bottom of the seventh. Williams, who led the Dragons with a .417 batting average swung and missed at three of Zeigler's pitches to end the game and make Calvary the state champions for the first time in school history. "I would like to thank the Calvary fans for their support all season long," Calvary Coach Rodney Traweek said following the game. "The fans really showed up tonight, just like they have the whole year. What else can I say, they are the greatest." Calvary was the only team in Louisiana north of Vernon Parish to claim a state baseball championship this season. Benton, Captain Shreve and West Monroe were all beaten in state championship contests this weekend. |
 
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | Contact | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Site by LineOneWebsites.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
