Central baseball team jumps Chaffee

The Chaffee Red Devils failed to muster any timely hits Wednesday afternoon against host Central.

That wasn't the case for the Tigers.

Central took advantage of runners in scoring position to down Chaffee 8-3 in baseball action.

"It was a tough day for anybody to hit," Central coach Steve Williams said. "It was a tough day to play. We did get some timely hits. With men on base, we had a couple singles that drove runners in."

The contest was played in gusty winds, making routine plays a challenge.

Chaffee first baseman Alex Davie tags out Central's Christian Cavaness near the base during the first inning Wednesday. (Fred Lynch)

"It changes the game," Williams said. "Every fly ball is an adventure. It's just a very difficult day and both teams I thought played pretty well. We had a few miscues, but it's a credit to both teams it went like this."

While Central (1-1) was capitalizing on scoring opportunities, Chaffee (2-1) never found a way to come up with the game-changing hit.

"We had our opportunities," Chaffee coach Brian Horrell said. "I don't know exactly how many we stranded on. I believe it might have been 11 or 12 runners stranded. That's pretty hard to imagine in a seven-inning game. So we obviously had our opportunities, we just weren't able to cash in at any time in the game. And against a good squad like Cape Central, when you get opportunities like that, you have to cash in."

The Tigers cashed in first in the second inning.

Ryan Siebert coaxed a one-out walk and went to second when the catcher struggled to locate the wild ball four. Trey Gardner followed with a single and stole second to put runners on second and third. J.T. Kratochvil then grounded out to the second baseman to drive in Siebert.

Central's Trey Gardner singles to drive in a run against Chaffee during the third inning Wednesday. He finished with two hits in the game.

Gardner took off for third on the play, and after the first baseman took the throw from second to retire Kratochvil, he sailed a throw to third allowing Gardner to score and give Central a 2-0 lead.

Central added three more runs in the third to expand the lead to 5-0.

Aaron Wendel led off the inning with a double and Austin Davis hit a high fly ball into the teeth of the wind that fell for a single. Both runners advanced on a balk by Chaffee starting pitcher Daniel Dooley. Christian Cavaness then drove in Wendel on a ground out, and Davis scored a batter later on a passed ball. Dooley coaxed the Tigers' Andrew Williams into a groundout for the second out, but then things went south.

Dooley hit the next two Tigers to load the bases, and Gardner came through with an RBI single past a diving shortstop.

"We got behind in some counts," Horrell said. "We gave up a couple walks and we had a couple balls in the air that dropped that normally should be caught. The conditions were tough for both teams. They obviously handled it better than us. You have to give them credit, they hit the ball and our pitchers got behind a little bit."

Chaffee shortstop Jared Walker is unable to catch a pop fly by Central's Austin Davis during the third inning Wednesday.

Central received a solid performance from starter Andrew Hileman.

The senior hurler tossed four shutout innings. He allowed three hits while walking one and striking out two.

"He did a nice job," coach Williams said. "It's his first time out this year. He was up in the strike zone a little bit and that's when he got hurt. Other than that, he threw strikes. He threw about 70 pitches, and that's pretty good for his first time out. I was pleased with his velocity and the fact he was able to work four scoreless innings. It's good because he had a good outing and also good because he has some things to work on."

Added Hileman: "It felt pretty good. When I got ahead, that's when I pitched best. I kept my fastball low and my curveball was looking pretty good."

Horrell spoke highly of both Hileman and the Tigers' defense.

"He was throwing strikes," Horrell said. "He was getting ahead in the count. I was pleased by the way we put the ball in play. We forced them to make plays, and they did a pretty good job with that."

Central added another run in the bottom half of the fourth, but Chaffee finally broke through in the top of the sixth against Tigers reliever Thomas Crocetti.

Trevor Cannon was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Dooley switched spots with him on a fielder's choice. Jason Cicardi then was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second with one out. Crocetti coaxed a ground ball that advanced the runners but was still in good position to end the threat with two outs.

But another walk loaded the bases, and Cody Payne lined a single that plated two.

Central added some insurance with two runs in the bottom half of the inning before Chaffee plated a run in the top of the seventh to complete the scoring.

Chaffee 000 002 1 -- 3 5 1

Central 023 102 x -- 8 6 2

WP -- Andrew Hileman. LP -- Daniel Dooley. 2B -- Aaron Wendel (CT). Multiple hits: Central, Trey Gardner 2-2; Chaffee, Jared Walker 2-3.