Published: April 25, 2008 10:16 am            

Diamond Foxes improve to 10-4

By Charles Pendell

Sports correspondent

McLEANSBORO — The Hamilton County varsity baseball Foxes moved their season record to 10-4 with a 4-1 week.

The Foxes thumped the Grayville Bison 11-1 on April 14 at Rod Karcher Field. On April 15, the Foxes routed the visiting Johnston City Indians 17-4. Trico defeated the host Foxes 12-1 on April 17.

Hamilton County then went to Waltonville for the second meeting between those two schools and was leading 9-0 in the fourth inning when the game was stopped because of a downpour.

On Saturday, the Foxes were supposed to host Galatia and Carrier Mills in a round-robin tourney, but Galatia canceled at the last minute, so the Foxes played Carrier Mills in a double-header.

The Foxes rattled their bats for 21 hits on the afternoon, including a three-run home run over the left-center-field fence by senior Tanner Spicuzza in the first game. Senior Brody Mitchell followed suit in the second contest with a three-run home run to left field.



Foxes 11, Grayville 1

The Foxes rambled over the Bison 11-1 behind the pitching of junior David Hunt (2-1), who struck out six, walked one and allowed only two hits.

The Foxes backed up Hunt with 14 hits. Zeb Gidcumb had a single, RBI and three stolen bases; Luke Bowman a single and two stolen bases; Spicuzza a single and RBI; Caleb Kirsch a single; Rhet Vaughan two singles and three RBI; Orry Taylor a single and double, one RBI and one stolen base; Kane Smith two singles and a double; and Brody Mitchell three singles and a double, three RBI and one stolen base.

“David Hunt threw the ball well,” Fox coach Jeff Gray said. “He keeps getting better every game. His breaking pitch is getting a lot better, and his change-up is slowly progressing. If he will keep working at it, he should have three pretty good pitches by the time regionals start.”



Foxes 17, Johnston City 4

Senior ace Orry Taylor (4-0) stifled the Indians, striking out eight, walking one and allowing six hits and four runs in the five-inning contest ended by the 10-run mercy rule.

For the Foxes, Vaughan had three singles, one RBI and one stolen base; Taylor a single, double, four RBI and two stolen bases; Smith a single, double and one stolen base; Mitchell two singles, a double, two RBI and one stolen base; Spicuzza a single and a stolen base; Gidcumb a single and RBI; Kirsch a single; and Brandon Webb a single and two RBI.

“We played well again against JC,” Gray said. “Orry pitched, and I thought he looked his sharpest that he has looked all season on the mound. He was really throwing the ball hard. ... We played pretty solid on the day.”

Trico 12, Foxes 1

Against Trico, Spicuzza suffered the loss, going two-and-two-thirds innings, striking out three, walking two and giving up six hits.

Spicuzza gave way to Hunt, who pitched two-and-one-third innings, striking out two and allowing five hits. Brody Mitchell finished the game, going the last two innings, striking out one and allowing three hits.

The Foxes mustered four hits in the game. Taylor had a single and double, Gidcumb a double and Kirsch a single, all coming late in the contest after Trico was up 7-0.

“We hit the ball right to them for most of the game, and it seemed that every ball they hit found a hole, found a gap,” Gray said. “That’s part of baseball; you’re going to have days like that.

“One thing that disappointed me a little bit was the way we fielded the baseball when we had the opportunity to field it. We made some errors, and you can’t give a team — good or bad — three or four extra outs. It’s going to come back and haunt you sometime.”



Foxes 12, Carrier Mills 8

Foxes 12, Carrier Mills 10

The Foxes had to play a waiting game Saturday to see if the field would be playable at all against Carrier Mills. Wet fields and overcast skies pushed the double-header’s start time back two hours, to 1 p.m.

In the first contest, Cal Muehlenbein started on the hill, going three-and-two-thirds innings, striking out five, walking four and allowing four hits. Muehlenbein left the game because of a pulled muscle in his leg.

Robert Rubenacker relieved to pick up his first varsity win, going three-and-one-third innings, walking two and allowing two hits as the Foxes won Game 1.

Spicuzza led the Foxes’ 10-hit attack with a single, triple, home run and five RBI. Brandon Webb had a double and one RBI; Smith a single and RBI; Vaughan a single and double; Gidcumb a single, double and two RBI; and Kirsch a single and two RBI.

“Cal was twice as good Saturday as he was against Thompsonville,” Gray said. “That’s a big plus for us, that he can throw that well. Robert Rubenacker then came in and hadn’t even pitched a game on the varsity level. I know he was scared to death, but he came in and flat bit the bullet, and I was thoroughly impressed by the way he threw. If he continues to do that, I’ll use him more and more.”

In the second contest, the Foxes relied on 11 hits to secure their 10th win of the season, 12-10 over the Wildcats.

Brody Mitchell pitched the first three innings before giving way to Caleb Kirsch, who pitched the last four innings to pick up the win. Mitchell had three strikeouts and two walks; Kirsch struck out two and walked two.

For the Foxes, Vaughan had a double, Gidcumb a single and RBI, Spicuzza two singles and two RBI, Brandon Webb a single and two RBI, Bowman a double, Taylor a single, and Justin Webb a single, double and three RBI.

“Robert Rubenacker made a play in the second game,” Gray said. “There was a slow roller, and he picked it up bare-handed and made the play off of one foot.

“We played a lot of our subs in the second game. Kirsch did a good job on the hill, and he was prepared. We don’t expect him to mow people down, but to just throw strikes and use his defense and we’ll try to pick him up with our bats.

“Spicuzza and Mitchell both hit home runs on Saturday, and the rest of them put good swings out there and we consistently hit the ball. I think everybody had a pretty good week.

“Luke Bowman got thrown out at first from right field, but Luke hit the ball so hard that it got to the right fielder before he was a quarter of the way to first. He hit the ball that hard.

“Brandon and Justin Webb have been a surprise as far as how well they hit the ball. Justin is solid in the field; he can flat go get a baseball. He is learning the mechanics of his swing. Brandon is a very solid third baseman, and he is trying to learn how to play short. He has done a good job. They both are improving.”

The Foxes host West Frankfort today (Friday). On April 28, the Foxes travel to Wayne City to take on the Indians at 4 p.m.

        

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