By Phil Murphy
Senior Multimedia/Content Editor
Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area
Click the links above for all photos and videos from the Northern Region Tournament quarterfinal game!
The Stallions loaded the bases trailing by three runs with one out in the top of the fifth inning and Bulldog coach Chuck Welch, the Northern Region Coach of the Year, called time.
His message to sophomore ace Aaron Hoover was simple.
“Coach came out and said, ‘Bow your neck right here. This shows what you’re made of,'” Hoover recalled from the mound meeting. “‘This is either going to make it or break it. You just have to throw strikes right here and trust your defense.'”
What followed was a three-pitch strikeout of South County’s lead-off hitter, followed by a rally-******* pop out to second.
In fact, Hoover needed only 18 total pitches to earn the final eight outs — 15 of which were strikes — as the Bulldogs eliminated the Stallions, 3-1, in the Northern Region quarterfinals at Madison on Memorial Day.
“It was getting in the rhythm,” said Hoover, who went the distance, striking out five and scattering five hits. “It was getting in the rhythm, throwing those strikes and getting outs. That’s all it’s about.”
While South County starter Brennan Miller held Westfield to only six hits himself, throwing just 18 total balls, the Bulldogs recorded half of their hits in a pivotal fourth-inning rally.
After senior Tommy Verbanic led off with an infield single, senior Nick Garifo moved him to third with a base hit of his own. Sophomore Hayden Ferington put two runners in scoring position with a frozen rope, RBI single to left, before junior pinch runner Kyle McLaughlin stole home on a failed squeeze attempt.
The Bulldogs led, 3-0, until a solo home run by Stallion senior Seth Jordan in the sixth.
“I was sitting back on a curveball, saw a fastball and ripped it to left field,” said Ferington, who also threw out a would-be base stealer. “It scored an RBI, it was a great at-bat.
“I’ve been struggling a little at the plate, so this year has been tough.”
While the Bulldogs are 21-1 this year — the best record in the Washington, D.C. area — Ferington was not alone in his offensive patchiness.
Westfield ranks 14th in the Northern Region in runs scored per game, but is by far the top-ranked team in runs allowed.
With the lights-out pitching of Hoover, junior Danny Thorpe and senior closer Ryan Williams, plus impeccable defense, Westfield gives up just 1.91 runs per game and has yielded one run or fewer 12 times.
That includes its first seven Concorde District games, when it scored three runs or fewer six times. But the Bulldogs still managed a perfect district record by allowing exactly 1 run per game to Concorde teams in 14 match-ups this year.
Their left-handed second-team All-Region pitcher claims those close, low-scoring games in March and April have paid definite dividends since postseason play began. Westfield faces Lake Braddock in the regional semifinals at Robinson on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
“Those games have obviously paid off,” said Hoover, who has a 1.06 season ERA. “Coach said early in the season that those games are going to benefit us later in the season and they really have. Our defense is so solid that have kept it with those runs.”
Email: pmurphy@digitalsports.com
South County (17-7) 000 000 0 — 1 5 2
Westfield (21-1) 000 000 X — 3 6 1
Pitchers:
SC – Miller (L) – 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 6 K, BB
WF – Hoover (W) – CG, 5 H, ER, 5 K, 2 BB
Pitches – Strikes:
SC – Miller – 75-57.
WF – Hoover – 91-58.
Groundouts – Flyouts:
SC – Miller – 4-7.
WF – Hoover – 4-10.
Batters Faced – First-Pitch Strikes:
SC – Miller – 26-19.
WF – Hoover – 28-20.
Notable Batters:
SC – Jordan – 2-2, HR, RBI, BB, CS, R
SC – Sanders – 1-3, BB, K, SB
WF – Ferington – 1-2, RBI
WF – McInturff – 1-3, RBI
WF – Sweet – 1-2, 2B, K, R
Runners Left on Base:
SC – 5
WF – 4
Time of Game:
1 hour, 39 minutes.
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