TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Brandon Powers Past Hillsborough In Season Opener

ADVERTISEMENT

By ADAM ADKINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 17, 2009

TAMPA - With the 2009 baseball season just getting under way, Brandon baseball coach Matt Stallbaumer only has one goal in mind.

"I'm truthful when I say, it's all about finding your team," Stallbaumer said. "What type of team are we going to be this year?"

The way the Eagles played Tuesday night, the answer seemed to be a pretty good team.

The offense staked Brandon to a big early lead and the Eagles held off a late Hillsborough rally to post a season-opening 7-5 win over the Terriers at Billy Reed Field. The game was a rematch of last year's Saladino Tournament championship game, which Brandon also won during its run to the Class 5A state semifinals.

Brandon wasted little time setting the tone, with Spencer Haynes providing the first big hit of the night with a two-out, two-run single to left to stake the Eagles to a 2-0 lead in the first. The Eagles offense went right back to work in the second and loaded the bases with no outs. After a sacrifice fly from James Ramsay, Spencer Dewey hit an RBI double off the wall in left and Roderick Shoulder followed with a two-run single to right to put the Eagles up 6-0.

"We came out on fire," Stallbaumer said.

It was a good thing, too, considering the Eagles bats cooled the rest of the game. Brandon managed just three hits the rest of the way and only one run, that coming on a mammoth solo homer to left by catcher Michael Smith. Meanwhile, Hillsborough refused to go down without a fight and began to claw its way back.

After scratching out a pair of runs in the third, Hillsborough mounted a rally in the fifth with a pair of two-out hits. The first was a two-run double to center off the bat of Dylan Esche, and Tyler Luper followed with an RBI single to right to pull Hillsborough within two at 7-5.

However, Brandon reliever Chase Sparkman picked up right where he left off from last year and nailed down the win for the Eagles. The sophomore lefty yielded just one hit over two scoreless innings of relief to earn the save and end the Terriers' comeback bid.

"We played five really good innings. You don't give a team like Brandon a six-run spot and expect to really come through," Hillsborough coach Kenny White said. "But we battled back."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT