By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
May 12, 2004
HEIDELBERG It was far too warm for snow to fall here Tuesday night, but the Porter's Chapel Academy Eagles had every reason to feel like they had been buried under an avalanche after Heidelberg Academy rolled to a 12-2 win in Game 1 of their MPSA Class A best-of-three state championship series.
Game 2 is set for 4:30 p.m. Friday at Vicksburg with a third game, if needed, to follow.
Heidelberg improved to 28-0 and atoned for two losses to Porter's Chapel in last year's title series. PCA fell to 27-2, with its only other loss coming to Class AAA Hillcrest Christian.
Brooks Lewis (9-0) led the Rebels on the mound as he shook off early wildness and finished with a four-hitter in the six-inning contest. Lewis struck out 11 and ended with six walks after walking four of the first 10 batters he faced.
PCA's Ryan Hoben (9-2) took the loss, allowing 11 hits, three walks and one hit batsman.
Hoben owned the Rebels in the 2003 finals, winning the first and third games.
Many of the Eagles' problems were the result of an uncharacteristic eight errors, including a pair of dropped fly balls in the outfield and another that fell between three players for a hit.
PCA took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second as Rob Quimby beat out an infield hit, and Michael Busby followed with a two-out RBI single.
The Rebels tied the game in the bottom of the second. Derek Griffin was awarded second base on a throwing error by the PCA third baseman and scored on a single by Justin Gibbs.
The Eagles took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third on a solo homer by Hoben to left field.
Heidelberg went up for good with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. Lewis hit a two-out double to right field to start the rally. After a pair of walks, Griffin beat out an infield hit to score courtesy runner J.R. Stephenson. Hoben uncorked a wild pitch that hit the backstop and richocheted up the third-base line to score Mason Key for a 3-2 Rebels lead.
Heidelberg added two more runs in the fourth. Chad Carmichael reached on an infield error, and courtesy runner Matt Ledlaw scored on the second of three Eagle mishaps in the inning. Lewis went all the way to third when his fly ball was dropped in left field, allowing Matthew Andrews to score from second base.
A five-run fifth broke the game open. Ryan Aultman led off with a double and scored on a triple in the right-field corner by Griffin. Gibbs' sacrifice fly made it 7-2. Carmichael singled with Ledlaw going all the way from first to third on a botched pickoff attempt by the PCA catcher. A balk by Hoben sent Ledlaw to the plate. Andrews added an RBI double and scored when Lewis' fly ball to right field was dropped to put HA up 10-2.
Aultman led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer. With the bases loaded, Andrews singled to drive in Griffin for the 10-run lead that ended the game.
Lewis retired the last eight batters he faced, five by strikeout. Except for Hoben's solo homer, each of the other three PCA hits were singles.
Andrews went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the Rebels. Griffin was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and scored three runs, while Aultman was 2-for-3.
The Rebels can take a state title and a perfect season with a win in Game 2. A win in either game Friday would bring the championship back to Heidelberg.
Of the Rebels' seven playoff games this spring, five have been won by at least 10 runs, with only Newton County Academy offering much resistance.
HA will start Paul Zeagler (10-0) on the mound with PCA turning to Justin Boler (10-0).
A baseball championship would go well with the Rebels' football championship earned back in late November.