Post by elon_phan on Jun 8, 2007 21:26:56 GMT -5
Elon recruit helps pop Post 63
Bob Sutton / Times-News
June 7
GRAHAM ¡X Neal Pritchard is working on hitting line drives so he can make a difference next year when he plays for Elon University.
A couple of those swings led to rather long line drives Wednesday night in an American Legion baseball game.
Pritchard hit two home runs for Randolph County Post 45 in its 7-6 victory against host Burlington-Graham Post 63.
¡§Both of them were line drives and they happen to go out,¡¨ Pritchard said.
Those were his fifth and sixth homers of the season. He¡¦s a potential middle infielder at the collegiate level, he said, but boosting some power numbers won¡¦t hurt his cause.
¡§I¡¦ve become one,¡¨ he said of a role as a power hitter.
Last year, he hit 17 home runs for his American Legion team. As an Asheboro High School senior, he stroked six homers.
Pritchard¡¦s three-run shot in the third inning wiped out a 2-0 deficit against Post 63. He led off the fifth with another long ball.
¡§They were out of here quick,¡¨ Post 63 manager Johnny Slaughter said.
Burlington-Graham (2-8) threatened to pull an upset, but stranded 10 runners in the first eight innings.
¡§I still feel pretty good about the way we played,¡¨ Slaughter said.
Pritchard made his first pitching start of the season and lasted into the fifth inning. Randolph County (10-4) used four other pitchers to keep Post 63 in check.
Left-hander Justin Yow, a UNC Pembroke pitcher out of Southwestern Randolph, struck out Dodson McPherson and Mike Nunn with the bases loaded in the eighth inning.
¡§We may have been a little anxious,¡¨ Slaughter said. ¡§We need that key hit here and there. At least we¡¦re swinging the bats a lot better.¡¨
Burlington-Graham also had the bases loaded in the second and fifth innings. A double play, with Pritchard turning it after moving to shortstop, ended the fifth.
Earlier in the fifth, Nunn poked a two-run single. Everett Blaylock¡¦s sacrifice fly in the sixth and Tyler Snow¡¦s run-scoring single in the seventh kept the pressure on.
¡§We hit the ball better,¡¨ Blaylock said. ¡§We didn¡¦t get the hits when we needed to.¡¨
In the second inning, Jordan Wiles and Blaylock provided RBI singles. Blaylock and Snow finished with two hits apiece.
Post 63 starter Colt Johnson took the loss. Reliever Zach Robinson pitched five innings, allowing two runs in his steadiest performance of the season. Robinson struck out eight.
Hunter Ridge¡¦s run-scoring single in the seventh turned out to produce the decisive run for Post 45. Teammate Ben Bunting went 3-for-3.
ƒÞ SCHEDULE CHANGE: Post 63¡¦s home game Sunday against the Greensboro Patriots has been changed to a 3 p.m. start. It will be scheduled for seven innings.
Bob Sutton / Times-News
June 7
GRAHAM ¡X Neal Pritchard is working on hitting line drives so he can make a difference next year when he plays for Elon University.
A couple of those swings led to rather long line drives Wednesday night in an American Legion baseball game.
Pritchard hit two home runs for Randolph County Post 45 in its 7-6 victory against host Burlington-Graham Post 63.
¡§Both of them were line drives and they happen to go out,¡¨ Pritchard said.
Those were his fifth and sixth homers of the season. He¡¦s a potential middle infielder at the collegiate level, he said, but boosting some power numbers won¡¦t hurt his cause.
¡§I¡¦ve become one,¡¨ he said of a role as a power hitter.
Last year, he hit 17 home runs for his American Legion team. As an Asheboro High School senior, he stroked six homers.
Pritchard¡¦s three-run shot in the third inning wiped out a 2-0 deficit against Post 63. He led off the fifth with another long ball.
¡§They were out of here quick,¡¨ Post 63 manager Johnny Slaughter said.
Burlington-Graham (2-8) threatened to pull an upset, but stranded 10 runners in the first eight innings.
¡§I still feel pretty good about the way we played,¡¨ Slaughter said.
Pritchard made his first pitching start of the season and lasted into the fifth inning. Randolph County (10-4) used four other pitchers to keep Post 63 in check.
Left-hander Justin Yow, a UNC Pembroke pitcher out of Southwestern Randolph, struck out Dodson McPherson and Mike Nunn with the bases loaded in the eighth inning.
¡§We may have been a little anxious,¡¨ Slaughter said. ¡§We need that key hit here and there. At least we¡¦re swinging the bats a lot better.¡¨
Burlington-Graham also had the bases loaded in the second and fifth innings. A double play, with Pritchard turning it after moving to shortstop, ended the fifth.
Earlier in the fifth, Nunn poked a two-run single. Everett Blaylock¡¦s sacrifice fly in the sixth and Tyler Snow¡¦s run-scoring single in the seventh kept the pressure on.
¡§We hit the ball better,¡¨ Blaylock said. ¡§We didn¡¦t get the hits when we needed to.¡¨
In the second inning, Jordan Wiles and Blaylock provided RBI singles. Blaylock and Snow finished with two hits apiece.
Post 63 starter Colt Johnson took the loss. Reliever Zach Robinson pitched five innings, allowing two runs in his steadiest performance of the season. Robinson struck out eight.
Hunter Ridge¡¦s run-scoring single in the seventh turned out to produce the decisive run for Post 45. Teammate Ben Bunting went 3-for-3.
ƒÞ SCHEDULE CHANGE: Post 63¡¦s home game Sunday against the Greensboro Patriots has been changed to a 3 p.m. start. It will be scheduled for seven innings.