| Lions rally to reach district semifinals |
By: Stephanie Sturgis - Press Sports Editor
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Posted: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 2:12 pm
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Forced — With his foot on the bag, Dresden third baseman Daniel Harris (left) waits on the throw to record the force out during the Lions' 15-7 win over Union City in the District 14-A Tournament Saturday afternoon in Union City.
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The Dresden Lions plated nine runs combined in their final two at-bats to stun the Union City Golden Tornadoes in the District 14-A Tournament Saturday afternoon at Elam Stadium in Union City.
The win came on the heels of the Lions' 6-3 win over the Halls Tigers in a tourney game held at the alternate location of Humboldt on Friday afternoon.
"The last two days we've been focused and played really well. We've been hitting really exceptionally," Dresden head coach Scott Killebrew said.
The victory advances DHS into the semifinals against Greenfield at 5 on Tuesday in Union City.
Against Union City, the lead was traded back and forth. The Tornadoes forged a 3-all tie in the bottom of the fourth.
Dresden bounced back on top with three runs in the fifth. Gatlin Hatchel doubled and Matt Beaty drew a walk. Hatchel scored on an Eric Evans single up the middle. Colin Kanehl, running for Beaty, and Evans both scored on an error in the UC outfield for a 6-3 Lion lead.
The Tornadoes took advantage of two DHS errors and two walks to plate four runs and regain the lead at 7-6 in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Now trailing, the Lions didn't hang their heads. Austin Evans tripled to the base of the wall in center and scored on a Daniel Janes single. Daniel Harris drove in two runs with a triple down the left field line to put Dresden on top 9-7 in the sixth.
"Janes was a really big player for us today. He did that against a good pitcher," Killebrew said.
Beaty relieved Eric Evans on the mound in the bottom of the sixth. The sophomore struck out two, but also walked two. He got defensive help when Josh Bone made a nice catch in right field for the third out of the sixth.
The Lions plated six runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Beaty drove in two with a single by third base. Chris Peeler led off with a single and scored and later drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the at-bat that put Dresden ahead 15-7.
Against Halls on Friday, the Lions got a strong mound effort from Hatchel and got the bats going early.
A Beaty solo home run in the first inning provided a quick boost and a 1-0 lead.
In the second inning, Dresden notched three singles and Harris and Janes touched home for a 3-0 Lion advantage.
After a scoreless third, Austin Evans and Janes both singled and scored to boost the Dresden lead to 5-0 in the fourth. Peeler walked and scored the Lions' final run in the top of the fifth.
Halls plated three in the bottom of the fifth, but rains ended the game in the sixth with the Lions taking the 6-3 win.
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