Jackets sparkle on mound
By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
May 2, 2003
UNION The old baseball axiom says that good pitching will handle good hitting and through five games of the Class 1A state playoffs, the Union Yellowjackets are making that line of thought stand up.
Over those five games, the Jackets have allowed just five runs on 12 hits.
Jody Blount tossed a three-hitter Thursday night as the Jackets knocked off Mize 5-1 at Laird Park in Game One of their best-of-three series for the 1A South State championship.
The Union-Mize series winner will face the Noxapater-Hamilton winner for the 1A state title next week. Hamilton, which is playing in its ninth-straight North State championship series, whipped Noxapater 11-2 in Game One Thursday night at Hamilton.
Union improved to 22-11 with its win, while Mize fell to 27-4.
Blount (7-2) held the Bulldogs in check, as he allowed only three scattered singles. He struck out three and allowed one walk. He hit a pair of batters.
Trailing 2-1 in the top of the sixth, Mize had runners at first and second with no outs. Union shortstop Jacob Casey fielded Adam McAlpin's grounder and turned it into a 6-4-3 double play. First baseman Paul McMahan fielded a tricky grounder by Justin Ainsworth and flipped to Blount covering at first for the third out as the Jackets escaped unscathed.
Union also turned a double play in the top of the seventh.
Mize took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second as McAlpin was hit by a pitch and scored when McMahan was unable to corral a low throw from third baseman Sean Ferrell.
Union took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Brooks Vance led off with a single, Casey walked, and Ferrell reached on a bunt single to load the bases off Mize starter Josh Melton (9-2) with no outs. Vance scored the tying run on a sacrifice fly by Blount.
Casey scampered home with the eventual winning run when a pickoff attempt by Melton at third base went into foul territory.
Union added three insurance runs in the sixth. McMahan was hit by a pitch and Jess Brantley singled. A balk moved both runners up a base and Casey followed with a two-out single up the middle to drive in both courtesy runner Maurice Thames and Brantley. Brantley scored when Mize catcher Anthony Adcock was unable to hang on to Jasper Adcock's throw from center field.
Casey made it 5-1 when he scored on a single to center field by Ferrell.
Ferrell went 2-for-3 for Union while Casey scored two runs and had a pair of RBIs.
Mize had no multiple hitters.
Mize hosts Game Two Saturday at 7 p.m. Union will send junior lefty Wes Henry (4-5) to the mound against McAlpin (9-2).
