Blazers dominate and ramble through Rockville

MAY 4, BLAZER STADIUM–

The geese weren't the only ones dropping bombs on the outfield, as the Blazers recorded 13 hits, six for extra bases en route to an 11-2 bulldozing of a mediocre Rockville team to boost Blair's record to 9-7.

Starting pitcher Grant Staking was one of the many seniors who excelled on senior night. He pitched 5 1/3 innings of four-hit, one-run baseball, in what Coach John Macdonald called his second best outing of the year. Staking received the win and is now 4-1 this season while senior Kent Anderson did a superb job in relief, striking out four batters.

Senior Sam Feinstein knocked home senior Danny Roman for the games first run in the second inning. The Rams tied the game in the third inning and had runners on the corners when an impressive inning-ending 4-6-3 double play ended the threat. This was one of many quality defensive plays for the Blazers, who committed only two errors.

Senior Tom Foley's run in the bottom of the third would give the Blazers a lead they would not relinquish. The Blazers managed to score five runs in the fourth inning and four tally marks in the sixth, batting around in both innings. Thus the Blazers had plenty of insurance so that a seventh inning unearned Ram run would barely make a dent in the Blazer lead.

After four straight games of somewhat meager offensive performances, the Blazer bats broke out of their shell tonight. "We've been struggling at the plate lately and we played like we can and hit the ball well," said Staking.

All starters were seniors tonight, and they definitely proved their worth. Danny Roman reached base three times, doubled stole a base, scored a run and knocked in three RBIs. Senior Sam Boone went 2-4 with a triple a run and two RBIs, while junior Justin Roman carried some of the weight for the juniors, and he scored three runs. Much of the other offensive production was spread out as ten Blazers had hits.

Macdonald attributed this tremendous victory to an improvement in many aspects such as hitting and mindset. "We did a lot of things well today that we haven't been doing in the past. We were more aggressive offensively… and we played with more confidence then we had in three weeks," he said.

The Blazers next play on the road against the struggling Kennedy Cavaliers on May 6 at 5:15 p.m.