James pitches Ohio Glaciers to NABF victory

July 18, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

Outfield defense,

early scoring help

locals win again

STRUTHERS

Ohio Glaciers pitcher Tom James is the first to admit that his fastball isn’t exactly overpowering.

But with solid defense and a wicked curve keeping opposing hitters off-balance all night, James was exactly what manager Don Pletcher needed to keep his team on the winning track.

James scattered four hits and allowed just one unearned run as the Glaciers (2-1, 25-16 overall) knocked the Ohio Longhorns (2-1, 17-9) from the ranks of the undefeated with a 3-1 victory in NABF Senior Division Regional action Friday at Bob Cene Park.

Along with Creekside Fitness (3-0, 34-6), a 10-3 winner over the Lake Erie Warhawks, both local teams will now look to finish pool play today on a winning note with the quarterfinal, single-elimination round set to begin at 5 p.m.

Staked to 2-0 lead after the first inning of play, James said it’s a lot easier to pitch with the lead.

“I just concentrated on throwing strikes and then letting my defense do their job behind me. Location is what it’s all about for me and I have to give special credit to my catcher, Jac Swope, because he called an absolutely great game,” James said. “He knew exactly what to call for every batter and in every given situation; all I had to do was hit his target. I worked my fastball, which set up my curve and then just relied on locating my pitches.”

The Glaciers’ Demetrius Hawkins led off the opening frame with a walk and score the game’s first run two pitches later when Don Bucko laced a triple up the left field alley.

“I like playing defense, but really enjoy setting the table for my teammates offensively,” said Hawkins, who made two rally-killing catches in center field. “We needed to bounce back after splitting our first two games yesterday because a higher seed is on the line.”

Bucko, who also scored a run, was thinking fastball the entire count.

“Their pitcher [Brandon Talion] missed with his fast ball to Demetrius, so I was thinking fastball the entire time,” Bucko said. “I just wanted to move him over and into scoring position, but was able to turn on the ball and send it up the gap.”

The Glaciers then made it 2-0 when Luke Barenchek’s groundout plated Bucko.

The Longhorns cut the lead in half in the second inning when Arpit Agrawal opened the inning by reaching on an error, advanced to second on a Nate Jones single, was sacrificed to third by Bobby Dixon and then rolled home on Bill Woods’ groundout.

The Glaciers got the run back, however, the following inning when Haskins laced a double with one away, then scored when Bucko reached on an infield error for a 3-1 margin.

Despite committing three errors, all on the ground, Pletcher singled out the play of his defense; especially that of his outfield.

“I have been blessed this season with a very fast outfield. We have a motto that if it’s fair and in the air, then it doesn’t touch the ground and all three outfielders were great today,” Pletcher said. “I told our kids to forget yesterday, today’s a new day so smile, don’t look back or let a loss worry you because good things will happen. As for Tom, he is to be commended because he was absolutely lights-out. He threw just 85 pitches and was in command the entire game.”

The Longhorns suffered their first loss of the tournament despite a strong pitching performance from Talion, who went the route while allowing just five hits.

“We’ve given up just six runs in three games so we’re still in a good spot heading into Saturday’s action,” Longhorns manager Eric Browne said. “We knew that this would be a tough game and both pitchers were excellent on the mound. We put the ball in play, yet couldn’t get that timely hit. It’s tough to play catch-up against a quality team like the Glaciers.”

After the second inning, the Longhorns got only one runner in scoring position, that coming in the fourth when Dixon reached second base after drawing a two-out walk.