Duke delivers
Published 11:04 pm Friday, April 15, 2011
All Jake Duke wanted was one more at-bat. The Pam Pack was happy Duke got his wish.
After battling West Craven for nine-and-a-half scoreless innings, Duke stepped into the batter’s box with one out and runners on first and third and smoked a Jake Brinson pitch into the outfield allowing Isiah Taylor to cross home plate to put an end to a marathon game with a 1-0 victory on Washington Baseball Alumni Night.
“Jacob was saying ‘give me one more shot, give me one more shot,” Washington coach Matt Burnett said. “Once he came up to the plate we all felt pretty good about what was going to happen.”
Perhaps nobody felt more happy about what was going to happen then Pam Pack ace Hatteras Brooks. The senior hurler threw all 10 innings of the Pam Pack’s 1-0 victory and was nothing short of brilliant as he allowed a mere three hits while striking out 11 and walking only three.
“Hatteras was fantastic,” Burnett said. “He was able to go 10. He really had some economical innings. We had a pitch count and we were getting real close … but he’s our horse. He’s our No. 1 and No. 1s are built for games like this.”
Brooks, who ended the game having thrown 121 pitches, perplexed the West Craven batters by attacking the edges of the strike zone with an array of pitches.
“He throws a good assortment of pitches. Hatteras is real good at keeping guys off balance,” Burnett said. “He locates his fastball real well … but his No. 1 pitch is his change, that’s the one that gets a lot of late movement.”
Brooks’ counterpart was equally stellar. Logan Nobles matched zeros with Brooks all the way up until the beginning of the ninth inning when he was pulled after hitting Will Masten with a pitch. Nobles struck out 11 Pack batters in eight innings of work and allowed five hits.
After threatening in the eighth and ninth inning, the Pack (8-8, 6-4) finally removed the zero from the scoreboard when Taylor led off the 10th with a base hit, and after an Austin Mitchell strikeout, advanced to third on a Will Swain single. All that set the stage for Duke’s game-winning hit.
“The big thing was we had to chase their pitcher. Their starter was phenomenal,” Burnett said of Nobles.
One thing that especially pleased the Pam Pack coach was the team’s fighting spirit.
“One thing I was proud about tonight was that our kids never flinched,” Burnett said. “ Our kids every single inning had an aura about them like ‘we’re gonna win this game.’ The mentality of our baseball team now is that ‘we’re gonna win.’”
Aiding Brooks along the way was a solid Pam Pack defensive effort. Masten, the right fielder, threw out one runner and fired a long cutoff throw to Taylor, the second baseman, who wheeled around and nailed another runner at second base.
Also shining of the defensive side of the field was freshman catcher Brandon Cherry who picked off two Eagles runners.
Washington will be back in action on Tuesday when it hits the road to face Jacksonville.
West Craven 000 000 000 0 č 0 3 2
Washington 000 000 000 1 č 1 8 2
WP: Hatteras Brooks: LP: Jake Brinson
Hitting: WC č Jordan Nobles 1-3, Logan Nobles 2-4; W č Austin Mitchell 1-5, Will Swain 1-5, Jake Duke 2-4 (RBI), Avery Woolard 1-4, Will Masten 1-3, Hatteras Brooks 1-3, Isiah Taylor 1-4.