LYNNWOOD — Shorecrest pitcher Ted Hammond struck out 12 batters and gave up two hits while leading the Scots to a 8-0 victory over Meadowdale in a Western Conference 3A showdown April 4 at Meadowdale High School.
Hammond started off strong, but finished even stronger. He struck out six of the final nine batters he faced. The right-handed hurler dipped into a wide variety of pitches to get the job done. A vicious fastball, a wicked curve ball and a few change-ups had Meadowdale batters stumped.
“Ted (Hammond) did a great job changing speeds today, he’s a power pitcher that’s for sure,” Meadowdale skipper Bill Hummel said. “He was terrific on the mound. We had good approaches to the plate and we got off some good swings, but he was still able to strike us out.”
On the flip side, Meadowdale pitchers Bill Sullivan, Kenley Ackerman and Torin Dooley walked a combined 12 batters. Consequently, the poor pitching led to three Shorecrest freebies. The Scots had six hits to go with their eight runs.
“Today was a complete step back for us,” said Hummel, whose Mavericks came in riding a four-game winning streak and were seeking sole possession of first place in the division. “Our breakdown came from the mound. We walked 12 batters. We’ve been drilling in the importance of throwing strikes. But when you walk that many batters, you’re just never going to win. And the big thing was that they (Scots) really didn’t do a lot offensively, but they didn’t have to.”
Meadowdale starter Sullivan, who went 1 2/3 innings, walked three batters in the second inning, once with the bases loaded, which brought home Ryan Canfield and gave the Scots a 2-0 lead.
Hammond returned to the mound and struck out two consecutive Mavericks. He forced a routine fly ball to center field for the third out to end the third inning. The Mavericks would send just 15 batters to the plate in the final five innings of the seven-inning game.
“Ted (Hammond) was dominant today,” Shorecrest coach Alan Bruns said. “What was working well for him was that he was throwing curve balls for strikes.” The Scots pounced on the fragile Meadowdale pitching staff, especially in the seventh inning as they tacked on four runs, thanks in part to a crucial infield error and the breakdown of Meadowdale reliever Dooley, who walked three of the first four batters. The infield blunder off Keegan Small’s bat allowed Neil Baldwin and Scott Huston to score from second and third base respectfully.
With runners on the corners, Canfield slipped a single through the shortstop gap, scoring Kevin Millet and giving the Scots a commanding 7-0 lead.
Two batters after Canfield’s RBI, Hayden McNabb hit a bases-loaded sacrifice to right field to score Small from third base to wrap up the Scots’ decisive victory.
“He (Hammond) was the sword for us today, for sure,” Hummel said. “It was like ball four, ball eight, ball 12,” Hummel said. “We have a lot of work to do, but I am confident that these guys can get back to where we were.”
Hammond earned his second victory and Sullivan picked up his second loss of the season. Shorecrest improved to 5-1 in league and 7-2 overall. Meadowdale went to 4-2, 4-5.
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