By Eric Herter
It is a cliché that is as old as the game of baseball itself.
Do the little things right. Extend at bats, bunt for a hit, draw a walk, make the easy plays — the list goes on and on.
On Wednesday at Mylan Park’s Shilling Field, it was Bridgeport that executed the little things really well and then turned those little things into a big 10-0 victory over University High School.
“Those little things are what is going to make us get better when it comes to the tough games down the road,” veteran Bridgeport coach Robert Shields said. “If we aren’t developing that through the season, that’s going to come back to bite us.”
The game was scoreless entering the third inning when the Indians (12-3) took advantage of a UHS error to lead off the inning. Bridgeport then sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning and scored six runs. Chris Harbert, Phil Reed and Anthony Dixon each had RBI singles in the inning as the Hawks needed three pitchers to get out of the frame.
“We did a good job of competing early on, making routine plays,” UHS head coach Brad Comport said. “Our pitcher just started to lose command a little bit. (Kyle Wyatt) is such a good pitcher when he works ahead, and he started falling behind and it just started snowballing.”
The Indians scored four more runs in the fourth inning when Aiden Paulsen and Reed each connected on two-run home runs.
That was all the scoring Bridgeport would need as Austin Mann was efficient on the mound. He allowed just three hits for the Hawks (7-8) while striking out four and he did not surrender a walk.
“He just kept the ball down,” Shields said of his pitcher. “His offspeed was working and he was commanding the inside part of the plate. Obviously,
University has a good hitting team, you always
have to be careful with (Noah) Braham and (Aaron) Forbes and several of those boys that come up. Austin does a great job of forcing ground balls and we played defense behind him.”
The Hawks did manage to barrel-up several pitches, but the Indians used solid defense to hold the UHS offense at bay. Brodee Latocha and Cody Thomas each had a double for UHS while Jake Croston added a single.
With only three seniors on the UHS roster, Comport said this was a good learning lesson for his young team.
“They have such a great culture (at Bridgeport),” Comport said. “They do the little things as well as anybody does. That’s what separates their program. We are working diligently every day to improve in terms of the little things and details and process and small victories.”
University returns to action tonight when it travels to North Marion for a 5 p.m. contest before hosting Hurricane at 7:30 p.m. in the Monongalia County Ballpark Classic.
Bridgeport (12-3)
Cole 3 1 0 0, McDougal 2 2 2 1, Paulsen 3 2 1 2, Dixon 3 2 2 1, Reed 3 1 2 3, Buffington 3 0 0 0, Harbert 3 0 1 1, Bailey 1 1 0 1, Nicholson 1 0 0 0, Oliverio 2 1 1 0, Rohrig 1 0 0 0. Totals: 25 10 9 9 .
University (7-8)
Latocha 2 0 1 0, Templeton 2 0 0 0, Campbell 2 0 0 0, Forbes 2 0 0 0, Braham 2 0 0 0, Thomas 2 0 1 0, Croston 2 0 1 0, Croyle 2 0 0 0, Walters 2 0 0 0. Totals: 18 0 3 0.
BHS 005 40 – 10 9 0
UHS 000 00 – 0 3 1
HR – BHS: Paulsen, Reed
2B – UHS: Latocha, Thomas
WP – Mann 5ip, 3h, 0r, 0er, 0bb, 4k
LP – Wyatt 2ip, 4r, 3er, 2bb, 2k
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