Chargers dominate Pam Pack in strong home win

By Scott Cole

On Tuesday night, a cold northern wind blew in from centerfield, but that did not seem to bother the Ayden-Grifton Chargers.

The Chargers, who have been struggling offensively tore into the visitors and took advantage of several defensive miscues. Ayden-Grifton took the contest, 12-0.  The win was the Chargers’ third in a row and their second straight shutout.

“We did what we wanted to do and got to their bullpen early,” Chargers coach Corey Skinner said.  “Our guys have been learning how to get key hits when needed when the runners are in scoring position. They have been better at making in game adjustments when things look difficult. You can take a game like this and look at the score and the big hits, but they would not have happened if not for the little things like the sacrifice bunts, the stolen bases, the not striking out on bad pitches, solid defense play, and so on. All around, this was a great team effort for us.”

Tanner Cannon walked the first two batters he faced to start the game. Washington’s Hunter Gall hit a screamer to Jackson Upchurch who was able to prevent the ball from snaking through the infield. With the bases loaded, Cannon got the next batter to ground into a double play and end the threat.

Again, in the second inning, the Pam Pack loaded the bases after a pair of singles and a walk. With two outs, Cannon threw a low pitch and got the batter to chase it to end the inning.

“Those two innings were critical for us,” Skinner said. “Tanner didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but the defense behind him played solidly. That gave him the confidence to continue and work his way out of some jams and allowed him to get more comfortable. He battled early on and was able to stay strong as the game continued.”

Austin Jones led off the bottom of the second with a double for the Chargers.  He was followed by Jordan Atkinson, who crushed a ball into the left field corner for a stand up double, knocking Jones in. Atkinson would reach third on a sac fly to center field and score on a wild pitch to give Ayden-Grifton a 2-0 lead.

The third inning saw the Chargers come out hitting again. Cannon led off with a single and promptly stole second base. He scored on a single through the right field infield by Brandon Benfield. But after giving up three straight singles, Washington’s Mason Weaver was able to settle down and retire the side and end the threat.

Josh Harris lead off the bottom of the fourth with a double. After advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt, he would score on a wild pitch. Weaver would be pulled after going three and a third innings with four strikeouts, four runs, and nine hits. Upchurch, who smacked a double and stole third, would score when Cannon struck out but a dropped third pitch rolled away.

“He’d been throwing me the same sort of pitches all night, so I correctly guessed what he was going to throw next,” Upchurch said, describing his double. “We came out and were a lot more focused tonight. We’re feeling pretty confident now and this was a must win for us in this conference.”

With the bases loaded in the fourth, a chopper by Atkinson was hit to the shortstop who tried to tag the runner, missed, and then was late to first with the throw, allowing the run to score. Harris crushed a ball to left center to clear the bases. Tyler Rowe, the pitcher for Washington, was pulled after a third of an inning pitched and five runs given up.  Aaron Pasour would drive in two runs with a single to right. Nine runs would be scored in the fourth.

Cannon was pulled after one out in the top of the fifth due to his pitch count. The Pam Pack proceeded to load the bases with just one out. The game was saved when Robert Pollock lined out to Blake McLawhorn at third base. He snagged the ball and then stepped on third for the force out to end the game.

“It was all reflexes,” McLawhorn said. “I didn’t have time to think. I just reacted to the ball. This game is a big win for us against a tough conference foe. I think this will give us a lot of confidence moving forward into conference games. This could end up being of the biggest games of the season for us.”

 Ayden-Grifton 12, Washington 0

                                                                                                                                R             H             E

Pam Pack             000         00                                                                          0             5           4

Chargers              021         9X                                                                           12           11           0

WP:  Cannon

LP:   Weaver