LIVEMORE FALLS — Hall-Dale’s 10-run, third-inning flare-up was more than enough to ruin Spruce Mountain’s day.
The undefeated Bulldogs (5-0) used five key hits and five walks to cash in with 10 runs and roll away with a 13-1, five-inning baseball victory at smouldering Griffin Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Hall-Dale winning pitcher Dean Jackman went the distance and struck out six batters and only gave up four Spruce Mountain hits. It also helped that the feisty Bulldogs didn’t make an error while the Phoenix (2-2) had three.
“(Jackman) is a quality pitcher,” Hall-Dale coach Bob Sinclair said. “He was our No. 1 pitcher last year as a junior and he continues to throw the ball really well.
“He has a zip on his fastball and he mixes in the breaking ball well, and that’s a nice off-speed pitch so he has been real effective on the mound, keeping the pitch count low and keeping batters off balance.”
Phoenix starting pitcher Logan Moffett threw hard but was confronted with control issues. The sophomore was tagged with the loss after leaving in the third inning. Bryson Bailey came on in relief and helped prevent the Bulldogs from another outburst.
“Overall, I thought Moffett pitched pretty well for his first time out,” Spruce Mountain coach Brian Dube said. “We have to get better in the infield with our defense, obviously.
“We didn’t do what we had to do, and late in the game when we had a chance to do something, we get a runner picked off. We have a lot of things that we have to straighten out to get better, but we are not done.”
In the first inning, Hall-Dale pushed across two runs in the top half. Catcher Akira Warren (two hits) belted an RBI single, scoring outfielder Austin Stebbins. Warren came home with the help of passed ball and a Spruce Mountain error.
The Bulldogs got another run in the second inning when designated hitter Tim Cookson got on with an error and scored on a passed ball to give the Hall-Dale a 3-0 lead.
Hall-Dale’s 10-run uprising was helped by a one-run double and single by Jackman and a three-run triple by shortstop Alec Byron. Warren also got into the act and earned another RBI on his second base hit of the game.
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