CHAFFEE USES ARM-GLOVE FORMULA TO TOP ORAN 8-1

CHAFFEE -- If a person was in a gift exchange, he wouldn't want to draw the little piece of paper that had Chaffee's baseball team written on it.

Chaffee will gladly take a run here or there, but when it comes to giving up runs, the Red Devils are a bit, well, stingy.

As has been the case most of the season, Chaffee got solid pitching and played good defense as the Red Devils improved to 15-4 on the season with an 8-1 win over the mistake-prone Oran Eagles Friday.

Chaffee starter Tommy Stidham allowed a solo homer to Adam Friga in the first inning, but shut down Oran thereafter, allowing just one runner to reach third base after the first. Stidham went seven innings and gave up five hits and one walk while striking out seven.

"We got good defense and a great pitching performance," said Chaffee coach Brian Horrell. "He kind of challenged the first batter and got a fastball down in the zone and he caught up with it. But Stidham settled down and pitched a complete game. He only gave up one walk and he picked off that guy."

Said Stidham, "I wasn't worried about (the home run). I knew we'd score some runs. I just settled down."

The Red Devils went into the game with a team earned run average of 2.11 so it was obvious that opponents can't afford to give away runs.

But that's exactly what Oran did.

The Eagles (8-10) committed three errors which led to four unearned runs. Oran also made a couple of mental miscues which didn't help either.

"That's what's been happening," said Oran coach Mitch Wood, whose team started the season 7-1 and has lost nine of its last 10. "We get good pitching then the defense doesn't show up. One time we'll hit the ball and the next time we strike out. We're not consistent. And the effort's not there and that's something I thought I'd never say about this baseball program. But it wasn't there today at all."

Chaffee scored two runs in the first, one in the third, one in the fifth and four in the sixth.

Chaffee's top three batters -- Stidham (7-1), Perry Rice and Matt Stroup -- all had huge days. Stidham went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, Rice went 2-for-4 and Stroup went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in and a run scored. The top three batters combined for seven of Chaffee's nine hits.

"At the beginning of the year our one, two, three guys were struggling," said Horrell. "We're finally getting them to come around. Our four and five guys were doing real well earlier but unfortunately there weren't guys on base for them. Now that we're getting guys on they're cooling down a bit but still doing enough to get the job done."

"Our defense has been playing pretty good," said Stidham. "And if we keep hitting the ball and keep pitching well, we should be alright and maybe we could go a long way this year."

The Red Devils, winners of 13 of their last 15 games, did most of their damage in a wild sixth. Zach Horman led off the inning with a bloop double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He then scored on a sacrifice fly to the second baseman. Oran second baseman Ryan Dennis made a nice catch with his back to the infield but couldn't recover in time to get a hustling Horman.

Later in the inning, with runners at second and third, Stidham executed a perfect squeeze bunt which went for a hit. Stidham then took second base which was left vacant and Jeremy Lynn, who was on second at the start of the bizarre play, scored when relief pitcher Trey Graviett threw wildly to third. When all was finished, Stidham ended up at third and two runs scored on a suicide squeeze. The bizarre inning continued when Stidham was balked home for the game's final run.

In the first inning, Stidham walked and stole second base and Perry Rice reached on an infield single. Stroup singled home Stidham and Rice scored on an error.

In the third, Stroup singled and scored on error.

In the fifth, Stidham singled, stole second, advanced to third on a bunt single by Rice and scored on a Stroup groundout.

Oran's Adam Friga suffered the loss. He pitched well through four innings, but had to leave the game in the middle of the fourth after being hit in the foot with a line drive. Friga, who was taken to get X-rays, gave up three runs, one earned on three hits and two walks. He struck out two.

"You lose your starting pitcher and that hurts," said Wood. "But you have to come back and play."