BHS pounds Pamlico

Published 12:00 am Thursday, April 20, 2006

AYDEN – The week didn’t start well for Bertie High School baseball.

Sunday saw starting pitcher Hunter Mizelle crack a bone in his foot, placing him on the disabled list along with Corey Hoggard, who is out for the season with a broken leg.

The Falcons didn’t respond well Monday, falling to Williamston 18-4 in the second round of the Ray Avery Easter Tournament hosted by Ayden-Grifton High School.

Bertie was back on their game Tuesday, however, using their typical late-inning heroics to secure a 5-2 win over Pamlico.

The Falcons won their fifth game of the season in their final at-bat when they scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth stanza.

&uot;I’m glad we came back and played baseball compared to what we went through on Monday,&uot; veteran Bertie baseball boss Randy Whitaker said. &uot;Our guys never quit. They kept battling hard.

&uot;I told them if we kept it close, we had a chance to win,&uot; Whitaker said. &uot;Because of Lance Thomas’ pitching, we had that chance.&uot;

Thomas went the full seven innings and struck out six despite working on short rest because of the injury to Mizelle.

After surrendering two early runs, he held Pamlico off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth stanza, Matt White led off the inning by reaching on an error. White was erased on Jed Hughes’ fielder’s choice, but that kept the inning alive.

Aaron Hoggard got on board via a two-base error that gave the Falcons runners at second and third.

O.J. Dobbin’s two-RBI-single gave the Falcons the lead. Dobbin went to third on a single by Ethan Boller and scored on a wild pitch.

Boller scored when Brent Bowen reached on an error to make it 5-2.

The Falcon’s first run came in the fifth inning when Scott Hoggard doubled and went to third on a Bowen sacrifice. He scored on a wild pitch.

Dobbin led the offensive charge, going 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs. Hoggard was also 1-for-2 with a double. Thomas and Boller were each 1-for-3.

The Falcons (6-12) will host Pasquotank at 7 p.m. Tuesday.