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MiddletownJournal.com

Burgett stings Hornets

Ryan Burgett appears to have Monroe's number.

In two starts against the Hornets, he has 25 strikeouts, including 10 in Fenwick's 7-1 win Monday.

It was the fourth win in a row for the Falcons (10-6, 5-2 Mid-Miami League South Division), who jumped ahead early with five runs in the third inning.

Both pitchers — Burgett and Monroe's Corey Keith — had no-hitters through the first couple of innings, but Jeff Benhase opened Fenwick's third with a triple to deep right-center field. He scored when the next batter, Kevin Long, doubled to left.

The even bigger blow came a few batters later.

With two outs and the bases loaded, Tyler Zaidel, the eighth batter of the inning, ripped a 1-0 pitch to center field scoring all three runners.

"What a big two-out hit to give us some cushion," said Fenwick coach Jake Long. "That kind of opened it up for us right there.

"This is a good win for us. Monroe is a good ball club, but we're swinging the bats and hitting some balls hard right now. We're doing things right on offense and defense."

Monroe coach Bob Hunt wasn't as optimistic with his Hornets.

"We didn't do too many things right today," he said. "If you don't hit, you don't win. If you don't make the plays on defense, you don't have a chance. We didn't do any aspect of the game right.

"We came home (from Florida) on a two-game winning streak. No excuses. We just didn't play today."

The Hornets (10-7, 4-3 MML South) finally got a hit off Burgett in the fourth when Nick Davis singled and Tyler Ott doubled to put runners in scoring position.

Burgett, however, pitched out of that situation by striking out the side.

"That was another nice game for him," Long said of Burgett. "He pitched out of trouble a couple of times. You've always got a chance to win when you have good pitching."

Monroe scored its only run in the seventh when Tyler Osterman, who walked with one out, scored on a double by Keith.

Zaidel was Fenwick's top hitter, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Senior Bill Rost had a solo home run in the fourth inning, the first of his high school career.

C

ontact

Skip Weaver

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705-2852

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sweaver

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