Prep baseball
Hamilton slips past Fairfield on close play
Turner hustles to first base to drive in the game-winning run, leading to an 8-7 Big Blue victory.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
FAIRFIELD — Arias Turner will never be confused with a world-class sprinter, but the Hamilton High catcher had just enough speed in his step Wednesday afternoon.
Turner's two-out infield single on a close play in the top of the eighth inning allowed Andrew Ruecking to score the go-ahead run, and Big Blue pitcher Eric Cook mowed down the Indians in the bottom of the eighth to lift Hamilton to an 8-7 triumph at Indian Spirit Field.
Extras
Get latest headlines via RSS feeds"It was a bang-bang play, but I thought I was there," Turner said.
Fairfield coach Larry Price obviously saw it differently. He exploded out of the dugout to argue with umpire Pete McCoy, but Price kept his composure enough to avoid an ejection.
Afterward, Price took the high road and refused to criticize the call.
"It's just tough," Price said. "Baseball, I guess, is a game of inches. It clearly was today."
Fairfield (1-5, 0-5 Greater Miami Conference) took an early 3-1 lead, but Hamilton (5-1, 5-0) tied it in the fourth inning and went ahead 4-3 in the fifth when Turner doubled and scored on a Brandon Whaley single.
One inning later, Turner blasted a three-run home run to put Big Blue up 7-3.
"It was a 2-0 fastball that (Fairfield pitcher Cody Riggs) left up," Turner said of the pitch he launched for his first varsity homer. "(Coach Dan Bowling) had just got done saying, 'If it's there, get a good cut on it.' "
The blast appeared to be a knockout punch against the struggling Tribe, but Fairfield rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Jordan Gabbard singled and Kris Kigar doubled to lead off the inning, and Evan Schweinfest (sacrifice fly), Brennan Croy (single), Mitch Durbin (double) and Austin Ventling (single) each drove in runs to tie the game.
But that rally just made the close call in the eighth all the tougher to swallow for Fairfield.
"I understand why Larry was so upset, but at the same time, I'm paid to say I thought (Turner) was safe," Bowling said. "I'd have been doing the same thing Larry was doing had they called (Turner) out. It was just one of those bang-bang plays."
Cook (1-0) earned the win in relief, while Gio Silvani (0-2) took the loss.
In addition to Turner's huge game, Hamilton got strong offensive performances from Ruecking (3-4, three runs scored) and Randy Mayes (2-5).
Ventling went 3-for-4 to lead the Indians, while Gabbard (2-4, RBI, two runs), Kigar (2-3, double, run), Durbin (2-4, double, RBI, run) and Alex Johnson (2-4, double, RBI, run) also had multihit games.
The two teams meet again at 6 p.m. Friday at HHS. Prior to the game, Hamilton will honor Joe Nuxhall by retiring his number and hanging a jersey on the outfield fence. Nuxhall's son Kim will throw out the first pitch.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193
or jmorrison@coxohio.com.
