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Pfeifer, Ads, walk past Diamond Dawgs
Alan Sloan - Wed, Mar, 24, 2010
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| Farragut right fielder Tyler Noland celebrates a first-inning RBI double as Bearden second baseman Garrett Sale, left, prepared to relay the ball to BHS shortstop Trey York.- Alan Sloan/farragutpress |
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Pitcher Philip Pfeifer has helped the United States win gold medals. Pitcher Anson Quillen made his first-ever varsity start Wednesday evening.
But Pfeifer, Farragut All-state lefty ace, saw Quillen, Bearden’s top arm in recent outings, hold his own while firing four innings versus the defending state champion Admirals at BHS’s Phil Garner Field March 24.
Fourteen strikeouts in six innings of work allowed Pfeifer to overcome some early inning wildness and a two-run BHS uprising in the sixth, as Farragut won 6-2.
The Admirals improve to 7-1 overall, 3-1 in District 4-AAA. Bearden falls to 1-6. 1-1.
“Philip carried us,” FHS head coach Matt Buckner said of Pfeifer. “That’s not the best I’ve seen him. But he started to get into cruise [control] about the second, third and fourth. He’s hard to square up.”
Pfeifer, who allowed seven hits, one earned run and two walks, said about his outing, “I did OK, I could have kept the ball down a little bit more. Could have tried to get some more groundballs.”
About his first-inning control struggles, “The first inning throughout baseball, it’s always the most challenging,” Pfeifer said. “Usually after that, you settle down.”
Jack Tate, BHS head coach, said Quillen “had his tremendous stuff” versus Farragut, adding he was “extremely impressed with the way he pitched and battled for four innings. He’s one of the better pitchers around. … Right now he’s pitching as well as anybody on the team.”
Though Quillen, a senior, and relievers Cory Phillips and Alex Helton combined to allow 11 walks and two hit batters, Tate said, “I also was really proud of Cory Phillips and Alex Helton … They gave us a chance to win the game. Cory pitched two great innings, and I give Alex Helton a lot of credit” for working out of a seventh inning jam.
Buckner said about his offense, “If somebody walks you [that many] times, you’ve got to put up more than six runs.
“I’m pretty disappointed in that,” added Buckner, making his first trip back to BHS after leading the Bulldogs as head coach for six seasons. “Give [Bearden] credit, they did a good job and their pitchers did a good job pitching around.”
Farragut jumped on Quillen quickly in the first, as David Allen’s infield hit was followed by Tyler Noland’s RBI double to right centerfield.
Noland scored on a wild pitch, making it 2-0. Quillen managed to limit FHS scoring damage despite finding himself in jams during each of his four innings.
Ryan Montalbano scored the Admirals’ third run after being hit by a pitch in the second inning, advancing to second after an A.J. Simcox single to right field then scoring on a bases-loaded walk.
Allen scored in the fourth after leading off with his second infield hit of the game. Nick Williams’ sacrifice fly made it 4-0.
Phillips beaned Nicholas Summers to begin the FHS fifth, and pinch runner Daniel Huggins scored thanks to an infield error. Another infield error allowed Nicky Delmonico to score — following the fourth of five walks Delmonico received from BHS pitching.
“I try not to get frustrated, but it gets frustrating a little bit,” Delmonico, a junior standout shortstop, said about having pitchers take the bat out of his hand. “Most of the time Ethan [Bennett] is swinging it well right behind me” in the batting order.
The Bulldogs offense, meanwhile, wasted Pfeifer’s first inning wildness — two walks and one single — loading the bases with one out before consecutive strikeouts smothered the offensive flame.
The junior standout pitcher did not allow more than one baserunner the next four innings — and struck out the side in the fifth — before Bearden’s sixth-inning rally.
Garrett Sale’s third hit of the game started things, followed by a two-out Drew Pasillas double deep to left field and Joe Bruce’s RBI single to left, his third hit of the game.
“Garrett had a great night offensively,” Tate said about the senior second baseman, adding he leads the team in RBIs.
The second Bulldogs run scored courtesy of an FHS infield error.
Delmonico, Farragut’s bullpen closer, overcame a seventh-inning leadoff error to force two groundouts and a fly-out to end the game.
“Over the past two years I’ve learned something from Pfeifer, he’s taught me a little bit,” said Delmonico, close friends with Pfeifer and a fellow USA gold medalist. “I really like pitching, I’ve always liked it. … I love having the ball in my hand when the game’s on the line.”
Featuring a fastball and curveball, Delmonico added, “I’m just going to throw strikes and I know my defense is going to make plays behind me.”
The other Farragut hit came from designated hitter Nicholas Summers.
Defensively for Bearden, junior catcher Pasillas threw out two Admirals attempting to steal second base.
“Drew had a tremendous game tonight,” Tate said. “He stopped two [FHS threats] himself.”
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