Foley miscues open floodgates for Daphne

Baldwin Register
By Daniel Boyette
February 19, 2010, 4:50AM

[img_assist|nid=699|title=Jordan Blanchette|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=150|height=106]GULF SHORES, Ala. -- Daphne took advantage of two Foley errors on one play in the fourth inning to score three runs and break open a tie game en route to a 10-4 win Wednesday night in the Hank Aaron Classic.

With runners on first and second and the score tied 3-3, Daphne's Jordan Blanchette hit the ball to right field, where it was misplayed. Both runners scored and Blanchette was able to reach home due to an errant throw to third base.

Dillon Schaniel got his first career win, going four innings and allowing three runs on three hits with three strikeouts and four walks. Sam Gresham gave up a run in one inning of relief and Tyler Berridge tossed two scoreless innings for the Trojans.

"We had some young pitchers on the mound; the first two pitchers have not had any varsity experience, so they did a good job," said DHS coach Joe Hutchins, whose team improved to 3-0. "It's a learning experience. They've got to work on getting ahead in counts and working the game a little faster, but I thought they did a good job for their first time out."

Jamin Graham (0-1) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on four hits over four innings with two strikeouts and four walks.

Foley (2-1) got within two with a run in the top of the fifth, but Daphne answered with a run in its half of the inning and added three more in the sixth.

Tyler Powell drove in two runs for Daphne and Kyle Reese had a RBI triple. Schaniel, Russ Mosley and Berridge also drove in one run each for the Trojans.

Taylor Wheaton, Zach Hughes and Eric Fontaine had one RBI apiece for the Lions, who play Mary Montgomery at 7 p.m. tonight at Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile.

Daphne's perfect showing in regional site play will allow the Trojans a shot to claim the tourney title. Daphne plays Fairhope at 7 p.m. Monday at Hank Aaron Stadium with the winner advancing to Tuesday's championship game.

"We're going to play a real good team next time. It's going to be somebody that's 3-0 and we're going to have to play better," Hutchins said. "Tonight, we made a couple of errors and we let (Foley) get a couple of rallies and did a couple of things we shouldn't have done. But all in all, we played OK. But we know from now on, our schedule gets really tough. We're going to have to step up our game and have a couple of days of good practice and be ready to go."