Central feels Chaffee's Payne

Chaffee starter Cody Payne was in shutdown mode on the mound for the Red Devils Wednesday afternoon.

Turns out the ace can hit a little bit too.

Payne hurled a one-hit gem and broke a scoreless game with a two-strike, two-out, two-run single in the top half of the seventh inning to knock off host Central 2-0.

"I got two strikes on me and was just trying to find a hole," Payne said. "Trying to put the ball in play, didn't want to go down looking. Try to put the ball in play and good things happen."

Payne delivered the one hit that neither team could manage for the first six innings.

Lane Henson led off the seventh with an infield single and swiped second to put Chaffee (3-1) in scoring position.

Central starter Chase Hagerty coaxed a two-strike foul bunt and an infield pop-out before walking Jimmy Golden to put runners at first and second.

Payne fell behind before lining a ball into the right center field gap to plate Henson and Golden, who was running on the pitch.

"That situation, it's one of those things you don't like to bunt a lot of times with two strikes," Chaffee coach Brian Horrell said of the no-out, two-strike foul bunt. "But a day like today with the wind, cold, and dominating pitching, we went ahead and took a shot to get him to third, because if we could have got the bunt down we were going to squeeze with the next batter. But fortunately for us, it all worked out."

Chaffee’s Cody Payne limited Central to one hit in the Red Devils’ 2-0 victory Wednesday. (Fred Lynch)

Payne's single was just the fifth Chaffee hit of the day as Hagerty was equally dominant for the Tigers (3-2).

Central pitcher Chase Hagerty allowed just two runs on five hits but suffered the loss. (Fred Lynch)

"It was a tough day to play, but it was a tough day to hit as well," Central coach Steve Williams said. "They were a little better than us at the plate today. I thought both pitchers did an outstanding job of getting ahead and throwing strikes. Our guys just didn't have a break at the end and their guys did. That's the way it goes."

The Central ace hurled all seven innings, allowing just two runs on five hits.

"I kind of had a mind-set coming into the game I was going to try my best to go all seven," Hagerty said. "Either way, I was going to give it my all for my team because I knew they were going to come back and help me out either way. Last year I had a lot of seven-inning starts, and my arm's gotten a lot stronger. My arm's not sore at all, and I feel like I could go even more than that. In the offseason I got a lot stronger, and I was ready to throw seven."

It was a pitching duel for the first six innings as the two aces traded zeroes on the scoreboard.

Payne allowed a single and a walk in the first inning, but didn't allow another Tiger baserunner until a two-out walk in the fifth.

Chaffee pitcher Cody Payne confers with catcher Cody Johnson in the sixth inning Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at Central. (Fred Lynch)

"Almost all my pitchers were working," Payne said. "I've been throwing since the beginning of January, starting to get my arm loose. That's what allowed me to go so deep in the game today."

Payne was plenty solid, hurling all seven and only allowing one hit while striking out five. His defense also was solid behind him, committing just one error.

"Our coaches preach you're going to save more runs with your glove then you'll ever knock in with your bat," Payne said. "We have a lot of pride in our defense."

The lone Chaffee blunder in the field nearly cost them.

Central's Calvin Lovig led off the bottom half of the sixth with a grounder to third. Red Devils' third basemen Devon Yahn threw wide to first, allowing Lovig to reach second with nobody out.

Payne calmly took care of the situation. He coaxed a pop-up bunt, issued an intentional walk to the Tiger's No. 3 batter Ramsey Scott, then sat down Hagerty looking and forced a Trevor Propst fly ball to center to end the threat.

"We didn't execute," Central coach Steve Williams said. "We had a situation where we could bunt him to third and we didn't execute, and that comes back to bite you no matter who you're playing, especially when you're playing a good ball club like Chaffee. We had a chance right there. If we get a run, it's a totally different game."

In the end it was Payne's bat that put the Red Devils over the top.

"This a great win for us," Horrell said. "Cape Central is a great program."

"We'll get better," Williams said of his squad. "We didn't hit well enough to beat anybody, that's the bottom line. You're not going to beat anybody with one hit. We have to become better offensively, and we will. As the weather changes and we get more swings, we'll be fine."

Chaffee 000 000 2 -- 2 5 1

Central 000 000 0 -- 0 1 1

WP -- Cody Payne. LP -- Chase Hagerty. Multiple Hits -- Chaffee: Lane Henson 2-3. Records -- Chaffee 3-1, Cape Central 3-2.