In most baseball games, eight runs on thirteen hits would be more than enough for a team to to get the job done and earn a win.
However, Westminster baseball found it to be just short of what they needed to come home with a victory Wednesday night thanks to the efforts of an even more powerful Manchester Valley offense.
Powered by 14 hits on a day where every batter in the lineup got on base, the Mavericks won a slugfest, defeating the Owls, 11-8.
“The bats woke up today and it spread through the entire lineup,” Mavericks coach Shawn Hampt said. “That’s the kind of effort you need to beat such a good team like Westminster.”
The offense started early for the Mavericks (7-7) as the talented Magin duo got things started in the first inning. Towson commit Gene Magin got the scoring underway with an RBI double. Grady Magin followed up moments later, legging out a triple that plated two more runs for the Mavericks in what ended up being a six-run first inning.
“One through nine, these guys have put a lot of time, effort and energy into hitting,” Hampt said. “Since the begining of the season they have adjusted and some have now perfected their approach at the plate.”
The hitting quickly got contagious as five of the starting nine Mavericks finished with multiple hits; six of the starting nine finished the game with a RBI as the Mavericks remained aggressive at the plate throughout the game. Nicholas LoPreato led the way with three RBIs, putting an exclamation point on his 2-for-3 night with a fourth-inning double.
“I feel like if I wasn’t the guy to spark it then that’s OK,” LoPreato said. “I knew there was somebody else backing me up on that.”
While the Westminster offense broke out themselves thanks to multi-hit games from Clayton Dorsey, Will Mollman and Griffin Vincent, all of that stopped for the Owls (8-6) when Manchester Valley gave the ball to Preston Haubert in relief.
“He came in and shut them down,” Hampt said. “He made them swing at his pitches and had such good command, he put the ball in whatever spot he wanted.”
Out of the Owls’ 13 hits, only two came off Haubert. The junior earned the save after three strong innings of work, allowing just one earned run while striking out four.
“Coming in like that, it can be a lot of pressure,” Haubert said. “But I trusted my teammates and my defense behind me and that takes the pressure off.”
With the win getting the Mavericks back on the winning side of things, the team’s confidence is sky high knowing how they can build off an offensive explosion.
After playing in consecutive one-run games, the guys know hitting performances like Wednesday’s can propel them and increase team morale as they face the season’s final stretch.
“Sometimes we get a little down, but with the ball jumping off the bat, we definitely started to pick it up a bit,” LoPreato said. “We feed off each other’s energy.”
Manchester Valley — 601 310 X — 11 14 3
Westminster — 131 102 0 — 8 13 2
WP: Tomas McGrew (MV). LP: Brandon Barrett (W) SV: Preston Haubert (MV)
2B: MV – Nicholas LoPreato (2), Gene Magin, Luke Christman, Tyler Vonella. 3B: MV – Grady Magin W –Clayton Dorsey, Will Mollman