Falcons claim eighth straight title with win over Blue Devils
April 14, 2008 • Baseball
By Michael Orr

A.C. Flora starting pitcher Pat Sullivan fires a pitch in the third inning.

Using a strong pitching performance by Pat Sullivan and a six- run seventh inning, A.C. Flora pulled away from Dreher to clinch the Region 3- 3A pennant on April 14 at Dreher Field. This is the eighth consecutive region title for A.C. Flora and ninth in eleven years during Coach Andy Hallett's tenure. The Falcons finish the 2008 campaign with a 13- 1 region record and 16- 7 overall.

Freshman Aaron Poole hit a second inning home run for the Falcons. Senior Will Freeman added a three- run triple in the seventh to put the game out of reach.

Dreher starting pitcher Case Stiglbauer faced an early threat by loading the bases in the top of the first but managed to work his way out of the jam, only allowing one run on a fielder's choice.

Stiglbauer then singled to right in the bottom half of the inning but Kurt Stoudenmire was thrown out at home plate, keeping Flora's Sullivan clean through one.

Poole launched a Stiglbauer pitch deep down the right field line for a home run in the second inning, but the pitcher was again able to get out of a tricky situation when Flora's Leland Shealy was thrown out at third to end the top of the second. Dreher responded offensively after a Flora error allowed two runners on base. Cory Green singled to center, driving home both runners and tying the score at two.

Photos by Morgen Orr Dreher's Matt Spots is hit with a pitch in the second inning.

Scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, Flora stretched its lead to 4- 2 and chased Stiglbauer from the game. Stoudenmire replaced him and worked his way out of a jam of his own to get out of the fifth. Meanwhile, Sullivan continued to blow through the Dreher lineup facing only four batters in the third, fourth and fifth innings and recording two strikeouts.

Flora added a fifth run in the sixth on a James Newman double to center field, scoring Robert Gibbes. The Blue Devils answered with a run of their own on a bizarre play. Eli Latham struck out to seemingly end the inning but as the ball squirted away from Flora catcher Jay Wilson, Latham was able to reach first and Alex Wilcox was able to score from third, making the score 5- 3.

A.C. Flora's Aaron Poole crosses home plate after hitting a second inning home run.

A.C. Flora batted around in the seventh inning, turning a closely played game into a blowout in the course of a half inning. Four singles, three walks and a triple did the damage for the Falcons with the highlight coming on Freeman's towering triple to right field. The hit cleared the bases and extended the Flora lead to 10- 3. Newman added his second RBI on a single up the middle and the Falcons reached the final margin of 11- 3. Dreher was overpowered in the bottom of the seventh by Flora relief pitcher Evan Brown who struck out five of the seven batters he faced over the last two innings.

Falcon Notes

• The Falcons had a 94 percent fielding percentage and committed just 16 errors all season. • The Falcon pitching staff had an ERA of 2.22 and struck- out over eight batters per game. Alex Mitchell led the staff at 4- 0 with a 3.39 ERA and 23 strike- outs. • The Falcons had a team batting average of 0.399 and scored over seven runs per game. Of players with 30 bats or more, James Newman led the Falcons with a 0.486 average. He also led the Falcons with 18 RBI.

Dreher starting pitcher Case Stiglbauer throws toward home in the second inning.