Falcons' nine unanswered runs doom Devils
Baseball - March 21, 2008
By Michael Orr

Pitcher Will Freeman struck out six Blue Devils and went 2- for- 3 with three RBI at the plate.

After trailing 4- 0 in the second inning, A.C. Flora scored nine unanswered runs, seven in the fourth inning, to win at home against rival Dreher, 15- 5 on March 21. Pitcher Will Freeman struck out six Blue Devils and Joseph O'Steen pitched two solid innings to close out the victory for the Falcons.

Dreher opened scoring with a four- run explosion in the second inning. Case Stiglbauer doubled to right and scored on Cory Green's single with one out. Green then scored on a bizarre pickle play where both runners were safe. After Aaron Markham's walk, Matt Martin doubled home two runs to give the Blue Devils a quick 4- 0 lead.

Flora responded with two runs of their own on a Jordan Floyd double, scoring Pat Sullivan and Duy Phan. The long second inning continued as an extensive conversation between both umpires and coaches centering on a controversial call. The Falcons argued for an interference call as Robert Gibbes headed for third. Eventually the call was made that Gibbes was not interfered with as he stumbled between bases and he was out at home, after trying to score on a presumed extra base.

Photos by Elizabeth Bailey Johnson A.C. Flora catcher Jay Wilson just barely misses beating the throw to Dreher first baseman Case Stiglbaur.

After the confusion subsided, the third inning passed without incident. Freeman then dominated Dreher in the fourth, striking out three, sandwiching two walks. Using the momentum generated by their pitcher, the Falcons blew the game open with a seven- run fourth. Freeman helped his own cause with a single to right scoring Leland Shealy and Gibbes while several Dreher errors contributed to the Flora offensive output. The inning ended with Shealy in a pickle, after reaching base in his second at bat of the inning, which allowed Gibbes to score his second run of the fourth inning. With a 9- 4 lead and a strong pitching performance, A.C. Flora was in command of the game.

Cory Green drove in Terrance Pelzer to bring Dreher within 9- 4 in the fifth inning, but new Flora pitcher O'Steen struck out two to silence the Blue Devil bats. The Falcons responded with two more runs of their own on the strength of a Kevin O'Quinn double and another Will Freeman single.

Dreher shortstop Cory Green begins a slide safely into home past A.C. Flora catcher Jay Wilson.

O'Steen quickly disposed of the Blue Devils in the sixth inning, setting the table for four more Falcon runs in the bottom half of the inning. Gibbes led off with a towering home run to left- center, increasing the Falcon lead to 12- 5. Two hit batsmen and a walk later, the Falcons added three more runs to their tally, reaching the final of 15- 5. Dreher did not bat in the seventh inning, due to the 10- run mercy rule, giving A.C. Flora a big win over their chief rival.

Freeman and Floyd each went 2- 3 with 3 RBI while Gibbes was 3- 4 with 2 RBI of his own, to lead the Falcons. In addition to Green's 2 RBI, Dreher's Matt Martin drove in two on 2- 4 batting.