The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Saline opens SEC play with 4-0 mark after sweeps
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 24, 2008
The Saline baseball team is only four games into the Southeastern Conference Red division race, but the Hornets already have an important leg up after sweeping rival Ann Arbor Pioneer in a Thursday doubleheader and repeating the feat Monday against Bedford.
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The Hornets got a complete game performance from starter Josh Burd in Game 1 against the Pioneers, a second strong outing from starter Adam Clements in Game 2, and a number of timely hits to roll to 7-2 and 9-3 wins.
"We're real excited about getting two wins here today," head coach Scott Theisen said. "We haven't won anything yet by a long shot, but to get four points in the conference standings and keep a good team like Pioneer at zero, that's big for us."
Burd's RBI ground-out to score Jeff Baublit in the second gave Saline a 1-0 lead in Game 1 before a misjudged fly ball to shallow center allowed two Pioneer runs to score in the bottom of the third.
From there, though, it was all Saline and all Burd. Al Zeiher's two-run single in the top of the fifth plated Kory Gainey and Brad Guenther, and a Pioneer throwing error on the play allowed Adam Clements to score from first, giving the Hornets a 4-2 lead.
In the top of the sixth, Tim Finkbeiner's perfectly-executed squeeze bunt scored Greg Spiess (running for Vinnie Haynes) and led to another Pioneer error that saw Carter Beil score for a 6-2 lead.
Guenther's RBI single two batters later to plate Eric Braham would stretch the lead to five and give Burd more than enough to work with. The junior responded to the two third-inning Pioneer runs by striking out six batters, walking none, and allowing only three Pioneer base runners over the final four innings to earn the win.
"I was just staying in control and staying focused," Burd said after out-dueling Pioneer star and Michigan baseball commit Bobby Brosnahan, who was relieved after a wild pitch in the fifth. "I was throwing first-pitch strikes and getting up in the count, and I think that helped keep them off-balance."
"Our guys didn't have great off-speed stuff today," Theisen said of Burd and Clements, "but they were locating their fastball and throwing it with good velocity. They could get up in the count and keep their hitters guessing."
The Hornets picked up right where they left off in Game 2, as Guenther blasted a solo home run to right centerfield to lead off the game. Clements would score on a wild pitch later in the inning and Saline held a quick 2-0 advantage.
Clements would give up a run in the bottom of the second but hold Pioneer scoreless over the next three as the Hornets put the game well out of reach. Zeiher connected for an RBI double in the second and Gainey's two-run double to score Haynes and Burd in the third stretched the Hornet lead to 5-1. Braham would score on a wild pitch and an RBI groundout from Clements would put Saline up 7-1 entering the fourth.
David Fraser and Finkbeiner each singled and scored on a wild pitch in the fifth for a 9-1 lead. Clements left having allowed just two hits in his four innings for the win and Baublit would pitch the fifth and final inning in relief before the game was called for darkness.
Perhaps most encouraging for Theisen was the offensive discipline shown even against a top-notch hurler like Brosnahan.
"I think after Monday (when the Hornets were shot out against Davison), we grew up in our understanding at the plate," Theisen said. "We showed that we can do what we need to do against the better pitchers we're going to face, like Bobby. To see that improvement, after just three days, was impressive."
Staff Writer Jerry Hinnen can be reached at 429-7380 or jhinnen@heritage.com.
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