Easterly helps Potomac baseball win
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By DAN CLENDANIEL
For the News & Messenger
Published: April 8, 2008
No, Easterly wanted to talk about his hitting.
Besides being the game’s top star because of his pitching performance for the 5-2 Panthers, Easterly had three hits including a homer and drove in five runs as Potomac defeated the Crusaders in a non-district affair, 10-3.
“I had been in a 2-for-a-lot slump,” said Easterly, who hit .360 last year. “It felt good to break out at the plate.”
Easterly’s three hits included a three-run clout to right center field in the third inning that turned a 1-0 Pan-ther deficit into a 3-1 lead.
“I was just trying to get a base hit,” said Easterly, who added a two-run double in the fifth inning. “He (Riverdale Baptist starter Johann Knee) was up in the strike zone and that’s my pitch.”
Potomac manager Mike Covington liked what he saw from Easterly and his teammates, especially with the team’s first Cardinal District game coming later this week against Freedom.
“The biggest thing for me was Tyler hitting the ball,” said Covington. “Our older kids were pressing at the beginning of the season but we had 17 hits against Liberty in our last game and hit well again today.”
Easterly did not have command of his breaking pitch at all but found a way to retire the Crusaders time af-ter time with his fastball.
“Normally when a pitcher only has one pitching working,” said Riverdale manager Terry Terrill, “you can figure him out. But he (Easterly) did a good job with his fastball. He had some velocity and we only managed four hits.”
Two of those hits were solo home runs by shortstop Tommy Winegardner. The Coastal Carolina-bound sen-ior Crusader blasted his seventh and eighth homers of the season.
Riverdale Baptist had a chance to bring Winegardner to the plate as the tying run in the fifth inning when Matt Selmer led off the inning with a double.
But with Winegardner in the on-deck circle, Easterly executed a perfect pickoff play at second base with his brother, Ryan, the team’s shortstop to retire Selmer and get out of the inning.
“We had gotten picked off at second base just the inning before,” said Covington. “That was Ryan’s call all the way and it worked for us.”
When Winegardner finally stepped to the plate one inning later with the bases empty, the Panthers had padded their lead with seven runs in their half of the fifth inning.
Besides Tyler Easterly’s double, the Panthers also got run-scoring hits in the inning from Zack O’Connor and Jonathan Amos.
“We brought Amos up from the JV team a few games ago and he already has seven hits,” said Covington of his sophomore outfielder. “He’s still learning how to play but he’s hitting with a lot of confidence.”
Easterly came out after six innings as sidewinder Tyler Vieira closed the game with three ground-ball outs.
“We’ve had success before with guys dropping down (to pitch sidearm) in the past with John Adams and Mike Matta (currently at Mount Saint Mary’s),” said Covington. “Vieira is a bigger kid and we’re trying some things to get him to pick up some velocity. He’s been our best pitcher this season but I thought he threw a little harder tonight.”
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