Published: April 22, 2008 12:39 am            

HS BASEBALL: PRP outslugs New Albany, 8-5

Panthers club three homers in win

NEW ALBANY — With the ball flying out of the park at Mt. Tabor Field, there was bound to be some damage.

In a contest with four home runs, an errant foul ball caused a stir when it smashed through the window of a parked mini-van. But New Albany went on to damage itself, committing two costly errors late in an 8-5 loss to Pleasure Ridge Park — Kentucky’s No. 1-ranked team — on Monday.

The Bulldogs (7-5) had their chances, taking the lead on a three-run homer by Nathan Poff in the bottom of the fourth inning. Poff’s shot followed back-to-back base hits from Sean Godfrey and Simon Weber.

“We did a lot of good things,” said New Albany coach Chris McIntyre. “We hit well against very good pitching.”

Down 4-2, PRP clawed back gradually, getting a solo homer from Luke Bainer — his second of the night following a one to lead off the game — in the top of the fifth, and another solo shot from Taylor Banks to lead off the sixth. Moments later, an RBI single from Alex Hornback put the Panthers back on top, 5-4.

Weber led off the Bulldog half of the sixth by beating out an infield single, and he was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Taylor Klein. Poff continued a big night with a single, and Travis Robb hit into a fielder’s choice to score Weber for the tie.

“It seems like we play PRP about 10 times every summer and we beat them last year, so we were not intimidated at all by them,” McIntyre said. “We have been much more timid against some other teams on our schedule than we were against them.”

After hanging in for six full innings, disaster struck in the top of the seventh. Zach Osborne led off with a single against Sands, and a potential double-play ball hit by Zach Cox was misplayed in the infield, putting two on with none out.

Eric Bainer hit into a fielder’s choice that scored the first of three costly runs, and the next came on a wild pitch from Sands. Cheyenne Von Canal followed with an RBI double that finally put the Bulldogs on the ropes.

But New Albany still had chances despite being down to their last three outs. Graham Brown opened the frame with a double and Sands reached on PRP’s lone error.

Godfrey then singled to load the bases, but the rally faltered when Weber hit into a double play and Klein flew out on a full count.

“We just didn’t execute (at the end),” McIntyre said. “If we play that way, we’ll win most of the games we play. We’ll just get back to work and try to eliminate mistakes.”

Bulldog starter Phil Forbis seemed to find his groove against the stacked PRP lineup, bouncing back from a tough outing last week against Jeffersonville. He didn’t get a decision, but McIntyre said he was proud of his starter’s effort.

“Phil really bounced back well after a bad outing against Jeff,” McIntyre said. “He gave us a chance to win the game. When you pay a good team, any kind of mistake will usually get you.”

New Allbany will host Clarksville at Mt. Tabor Field on Wednesday.



PRP 101 012 3—8 13 1

NEW ALBANY 000 401 0—5 9 1

WP — Gibson. LP — Sands. 2B — Brown (NA), Von Canal (P). HR — Bainer (P) 2, Banks (P), Poff (NA).

Records — New Albany 7-5, Pleasure Ridge Park 12-1.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.