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Kettle Run's first year ends in 12-2 loss to Brentsville
Hall of Fame outfielder Wee Willie Keeler offered some ageless wisdom for his fellow hitters around the turn of the 20th century.
Keeler's famous words to Brooklyn Eagle sportswriter Abe Yager, "Hit 'em where they ain't," still ring true today as the Kettle Run baseball team found out the hard way Tuesday.
The fourth-seeded Cougars (10-10) failed to find enough outfield gaps against top-seeded Brentsville (15-3) in the Northwestern District tournament semifinals.
With Kettle Run trailing 6-2 in the top of the fourth inning, Cougar second baseman Luke Palese rocked a high fastball off the warning track in left-center field that for a stand-up double with one out.
Things looked promising when rightfielder Josh Leonard launched the second pitch he saw from Brentsville starter Austin Hale to deep, deep centerfield — but there was senior James Kerns to make the catch for out No. 2.
Kettle Run shortstop Robbie Spinks then flied out to Brentsville leftfielder Brian Worley, essentially ending the Cougars' scoring chances for the day, and season.
A short time later Brentsville won by slaughter rule with a 12-2 victory, called in the bottom of the fifth.
The Tigers earned six runs in the first inning off of starter Jimmy Bowman and six in the fifth against reliever Jamie Driver.
"We're actually scoring in multiple innings" this year, said Kerns, comparing the 2009 Tigers to their 2008 counterparts.
Last year's squad would routinely wait until the last possible moment to put together come-from-behind rallies, a strategy that caught up with the Tigers with a loss in the Group AA state quarterfinals.
Brentsville has adopted a knack this year for scoring early and keeping pressure on its opposition as demonstrated against Kettle Run. "It's coming from all the guys who were on the team last year," said Tiger coach Brian Knight.
Tiger shortstop Rich Lindsay blew the game open by smacking a base-loaded first inning triple that scored three runs and put Kettle Run in a 6-1 hole. "I saw it and drove it," said Lindsay, explaining that he was just looking for a strike...
See the Friday print issue of the Fauquier Times-Democrat Weekend Edition for the complete story.
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