sfoggi posted on June 16, 2011 21:47
WINTER PARK, Fla. (June 16, 2011) - The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (7-2) shutout the Winter Haven Loggerheads behind a remarkable performance from starting pitcher Jeremy Strawn (State College of Florida), as they won 7-0.
“He threw strike one, and got ahead of hitters,” said Head Coach Kevin Davidson.
Strawn (2-0) allowed just three hits in six innings of work, struck out five, and did it all in an economical 66 pitches.
It was all Diamond Dawgs from the start too, as they scored three runs in the first two innings.
However, Winter Park busted the game wide open in the bottom of the sixth inning. Austin Chubb (Florida Southern) started things off by reaching base on an error by the shortstop. Chubb’s appearance was followed by a Brad Hutton (The Ohio State University) walk and an Alex Cruz (Georgia Tech) single to right field, bringing Dustin DeMuth (Indiana University) to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. DeMuth was already 2-for-2 with a single, double, and a run scored. In a 1-1 count, DeMuth laced a bases clearing triple down the right field line off of Winter Haven reliever Brady Rodriguez (Abilene Christian), making things 6-0. DeMuth then scored on a Tyler Rocklein (State College of Florida) sacrifice fly.
“I was just happy to help out this team,” said DeMuth.
DeMuth broke out on Thursday night, as he went 3-for-3 with a single, double, and triple (in that order) with three RBIs and two runs scored. He entered the game hitting .192, but raised his average to .267 with his performance. DeMuth hit .360 this past spring as a freshman at Indiana.
“He’s the type of kid where once he gets his feet wet, he’ll contribute,” said Davidson.
The Diamond Dawgs bullpen did their part as well, chipping in three scoreless innings and allowing just two hits, while keeping the shutout intact. There was not much the Loggerheads hitters could do, as they had five different innings where they went down in order. Winter Haven had a couple of chances to get on the board in the first and fifth innings, but ran themselves out of their scoring chances.
With two outs and runners on the corners in the first inning, and the number five hitter in the lineup Chris Pagliarulo (Boston College) at the dish, Sam Halpern (Barry University) was thrown out trying to steal second base to end the inning. Then in the fifth, with two outs, Sean O’Grady (Benedictine College) reached base on a single to centerfield and advanced to second as Nicholas Geary (Georgetown) was hit by a pitch. O’Grady made the third out at third base as he was caught stealing to end that scoring threat.
Overall, the Diamond Dawgs could not have asked for much more in an all-around team victory led by Strawn and DeMuth.
Winter Park will be on the road against the Orlando Freedom Friday, June 17. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.
Mitchell Adams (UCF)