By Rick Teverbaugh
Fri, May 16 2008
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ANDERSON — The Pendleton Heights baseball team displayed its entire arsenal in a single inning to break open a close game and thump Highland 12-4 at Bob Stecher Field on Tuesday evening.
In the fourth, leading by a score of 4-3, the Arabians sent nine hitters to the plate and reached base on an error, walk, single, double, triple and home run before the inning ended.
The PH fourth opened with Jay Hubble’s single. Clint McCord reached on an error. Nick Burke walked one out later. After a pop out, Nate Clem’s triple cleared the sacks for a 7-3 Arabian lead.
Sean Collins, serving as designated hitter, doubled home Clem. Ben Cronk capped the inning’s scoring with a two-run blast over the left field fence.
“We got on base with some errors and then we got some timely hits,” PH coach Bill Stoudt said.
All but one of the Arabians’ dozen runs were unearned. Yet, PH did a lot of damage at the plate, getting 11 hits, five for extra bases.
The Scots actually grabbed a 3-1 lead after two innings on consecutive doubles by Jake Millikan and Taylor Hopkins.
But the Arabians rebounded with a three-run third to take the lead for good. The big blow in that frame came from Collins.
“Collins’ three-run homer was huge,” Stoudt said. “We’ve got four kids on this team who have played basketball. They have been down before in other spots, and at other times and it doesn’t bother them. I’m happy with their makeup in that way.”
Collins had a superior game at the plate. He had that three-run homer, two doubles and a walk. He scored four runs and drove in four. Going to the game he had a feeling hits might come his way.
“We talked about it on the bus coming over here,” Collins said. “We like to hit in this small ballpark. The first pitch he (Highland starter Bronson Doggett) threw me a fastball. The second pitch he threw a curve, and it was right over the middle of the plate. I don’t know if he was just trying to change it up or what.”
In the sixth inning, the Arabians scored twice against Highland reliever Hopkins without benefit of a hit. Clem reached on a two-base, two-out error. A wild pitch moved him to third and he scored on the second Scots’ error of the game.
“If you commit errors in a small park, then the other team gets one up in the air, it’s painful,” Highland coach Matt Bair said. “It’s unlike places like Memorial (Field, Anderson) or McBride (Stadium, Richmond).”
Highland’s only run after the three-run second came on Trevor Humes’ solo homer to lead off the fourth. The Scots had eight hits, including two doubles by Millikan plus a double and a single by Hopkins.
“I wasn’t very impressed by our approach at the plate as a team,” Bair said. “We work to get a favorable position in the count. Then we’re not guessing. We’re supposed to be looking for one thing and adjusting to other pitches. We didn’t do that very well.”
Sophomore Tyler Holloway started for the Arabians on the mound and pitched five innings. One of the four runs he gave up was unearned. He walked nobody and struck out seven.
“This is a park where hitters like to play,” Stoudt said. “I thought Holloway came in and pitched very well.” Allen Thompson pitched two shutout innings of relief, giving up only one hit.
The win pushes the Arabians to 10-2. They play next at Shelbyville in a Friday Hoosier Heritage Conference doubleheader.
The Scots drop to 3-5 and will play city rival Anderson today at Memorial Field.
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