The road back to the mound at Shilling Field has been a long one for University High school pitcher Chase Edwards.
After recovering from a lingering injury, the junior right hander finally got his first start of the season on Friday.
He did not disappoint either as he finished with six strikeouts while scattering four hits and allowing just one run in five innings of work as the Hawks (7-7) picked up a 9-2 win over visiting Albert Gallatin.
“I really haven’t been throwing since football,” Edwards, who is the starting quarterback for UHS, said. “Being back on the mound brings my competitive spirit back out. Not being able to do anything because of injury — it stinks. Just being able to come out here and compete with my guys, makes it fun.”
Edwards has been back on the field for UHS since the end of March, and he did make a brief pitching appearance in a win over Parkersburg South. But this was his first start, on the mound, of the season.
“Chase is going to be a guy that we are going to look to start games for us,” UHS head coach Brad Comport said. “He’s one of our few seasoned guys who has been out there and had some experience. He’s a competitor and we are going to put a lot of trust in him moving forward.”
With Edwards shining on the mound, UHS was able to find some offense in the second inning when Noah Braham slugged a one-out home run and then Cody Thomas scored a second run when Edwards reached base on an error.
The Colonials did tighten the score to 2-1 in the third inning when Evan McGee hit a RBI single to centerfield, but Edwards was able to wiggle out of any further trouble and finished by striking out four of the next seven batters he faced before leaving with the game well in hand.
University finally broke the contest open in the fourth inning as they took advantage of three walks and a two-run single off the bat of Wenkai Campbell to score five runs. The Hawks added two more runs in the fifth as Tyler Furbee slugged a two-run double.
“We started a little bit slow,” Comport said. “I had a feeling we were going to break out. We were able to have really good at bats, especially with two outs and two strikes. We got some guys on, drew some walks, and extended some at bats and we got the timely hit today. It was good to see a lot of guys producing.”
The win snaps a two-game skid for the Hawks and sets them up for a showdown with perennial powerhouse Bridgeport on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The game will be played at Shilling Field.
“They are a really tough opponent that we haven’t seen yet,” Comport said. “We know they are a very good baseball team. We are just going to regroup and put our best foot forward and give them our best effort.”
Braham led the UHS offense with two hits including his solo homer while Campbell, Gabe Templeton, Jake Croston, Thomas, Edwards and Furbee each had one hit. Furbee pitched the final two innings as he struck out two, allowed one run and one hit.
By Eric Herter
Albert-Gallatin
Barton 2 1 1 0, Robinson 3 0 2 0, McCusker 2 0 0 1, McGee 4 0 1 1, Matzus-Chapman 3 0 0 0, Pegg 3 0 0 0, Skochelack 3 1 1 0, Brown 3 0 0 0, Dolobach 2 0 0 0, Potkul 0 0 0 0. Totals 25 2 5 2.
University
Latocha 2 1 0 1, Templeton 2 1 1 1, Wyatt 1 0 0 0, Campbell 4 0 1 2, Forbes 4 0 0 0, Braham 3 1 2 1, Croston 2 1 1 0, Thomas 3 2 1 0, Croyle 1 0 0 0, Edwards 2 1 1 0, Furbee 1 0 1 2. Totals: 25 9 8 7.
AGHS 001 000 1 -2 5 1
UHS 020 520 x – 9 8 0
WP – Edwards 5ip, 4h, 1r, 1er, 2bb, 6k
LP – Dolobach 3.2ip, 6h, 6r, 5er, 3bb, 1k
HR – UHS: Braham
2B – AG: Skochelak. UHS: Furbee
