Aug 21, 2008

Hitting stride

Palo Alto advances to single-elimination round

By Kevin J. Stone / Daily News Correspondent

QUINCY, Mass. - With a number of scenarios facing the Palo Alto Babe Ruth 14-year-old all-stars entering Wednesday night's final game of pool play, the simplest one was just win and you're in. The boys left little to chance, winning in dominating fashion 13-0 in a mercy-rule shortened, five-inning blowout of host Quincy, thus securing a spot in the single-elimination round, which begins today.

In front of a packed home crowd for Quincy, Palo Alto put up four runs in the top of the first inning, and never looked back. Led by game MVP BJ Boyd (his second honor in three games), who racked up three runs, three hits, three stolen bases and an RBI, the Palo Alto offense banged out 16 hits.

Boyd led the first off with an infield single, just barely beating out the throw. He then stole second two pitches later, putting Quincy in a tough spot very early on. Second basemen Freddy Avis beat out a ball to first for an infield single, moving Boyd to third with still no outs. Avis swiped second, setting up starting pitcher Travis McHugh to help out his own cause with a two-run single to put Palo Alto on the board before an out was even recorded. Catcher Jordan Piha and shortstop Drake Swezey also tacked on RBI singles in the first, giving Palo Alto plenty of breathing room right away.

Travis McHugh managed to get out of a one-out jam in the bottom half of the first with a strikeout and line drive to first - stranding runners on second and third. It would prove to be huge, as McHugh settled in beautifully the rest of the game, shutting down the rest of the Quincy lineup and holding them to no further hits over with two strikeouts in his last three innings of work.

While McHugh looked calm, cool and collected on the mound most of the night, it was hardly the case for a boy who early in the season didn't even want to take the ball.

"For some reason, ever since I got to the Babe Ruth level I've been terrible at pitching," McHugh said. "I was good when I was 12-years-old, but I've just always had trouble adjusting. When I found out I was getting the ball tonight, I felt a little pressure, but I was more fired up than anything else. I was ready to go. I knew I just wanted to come out and get the job done for this team."

The second inning started with more of the same from the Palo Alto offense. Boyd led off with a walk, then recorded another theft of second. Avis caught a lucky break when a pop-up landed in between an indecisive battery for Quincy. Sam Falkenhagen proceeded to fire a two-run double into the gap, scoring Boyd and Avis. Falkenhagen then stole third and scored on a Tucker Jorgensen sacrifice fly, giving Palo a 7-0 lead after two.

It would stay that way until an inning later, when the boys tacked on another run with some small ball. Swezey led off with a walk and advanced to second on a passed ball by the catcher. Matt Eastman sacrificed Swezey to third. Pinch hitter Jacob Lauing was robbed of an RBI when Swezey was thrown out at home after Lauing singled, however he would then come around to score on Boyd's triple, his second hit of the game.

Lauing's dad Ed, president of Palo Alto Babe Ruth, was in attendance, as he has been and will continue to be for the remainder of the week, and was more than pleased with what he had seen so far.

"It's really been a terrific week." he said. "We went on a tour of Fenway Park earlier today, and then went and took some batting practice right after to make sure the team was still focused. These kids have been stepping up to the increased pressure whenever they've been asked, and I feel like we still have plenty of depth that hasn't even been seen yet."

The fourth and fifth innings were more of the same from the Palo Alto squad. Pushing the score to 9-0 after four and grabbing their final four runs in the top half of the fifth.

The offensive contributions came from all over the roster, including RBI hits from Swezey, Kevin Kannappan and Cam Winn.

Graham Marchant and Eastman split the final two innings in closing the game for Palo Alto.

The boys now have a date with Youngstown, Ohio, in the first round of eliminations. Both teams finished with a 3-1 record in pool play in their respective divisions.

Manager Matt Atwater admitted to being a bit edgy heading into the game, but had complete confidence in his team.

"We were a bit worried watching (Quincy's) starter, just because he shut down a great Florida team," he said. "But I knew if we could just come out and get the bats going like we did, then there'd be no looking back."

Moving forward, Atwater hopes his team can maintain the same focus, and take the same approach that's led to three straight wins.

"If we continue to be confident, and just be the team we know we can be, I feel like anything is possible," he said.

Three down. ... Three to go.