Baseball routed by Patriots

APRIL 5, BLAZER STADIUM–

The Blazers, were off to a great 3-0 start to the 2004 season, but were faced with a roadblock today in the form of the Wootton Patriots. Blair could do little right, and its sub-par pitching, defense and hitting led to a disappointing 11-6 defeat.

The Blazers managed just three hits today while giving up 16. Defensively the Blazers let many catchable balls slip away, some of which may be attributed to the intense winds.

On the mound, senior Jonas Wilson was not his usual reliable self, allowing eight runs off of 11 hits in five innings. Relievers Tommy Dugan, Grant Staking and Cody Simpson were also unable to stymie the Patriots.

The Blazers opened the game well, with senior Jonas Wilson pitching a scoreless top of the first inning, and senior slugger Kent Anderson batted in the game's first run with a single. Unfortunately it would be the only inning that the Patriots would go without a run as they slowly but surely built a commanding lead over the Blazers.

In the second inning the Blazers claimed a 2-1 lead when shortstop Ian Scroggs marked his return from a back injury with an RBI single, scoring junior third baseman Chris Madert, who reached base on a double. However, the Blazers were not able to hold onto their lead for long, as a four-run Patriot third inning gave Wootton an advantage it would not relinquish.

Coach John Macdonald was not pleased with his team's performance. "It was a disappointing showing," he said. "We had a 2-1 lead but we self destructed after that."

The Blazer bats went silent after the second inning, as they went hitless for the final five frames. In fact, Blazers had a streak of seven straight retired batters from the fourth through the sixth innings.

The Blazers were trailing 11-3 going into the bottom of the seventh inning and looked to close the gap. Blair's first three batters of the inning, Ben Nakamura, Sam Boone and Anderson, all walked and later scored, but it was too little, too late for the Blazers as they dropped their first game of the season.

According to Scroggs the team lacked the determination needed to be victorious. "We played with our heads down; we weren't playing like we wanted to win," he said.

The game against Paint Branch, scheduled for Apr. 4, has been postponed to Apr. 13 at 3:30 p.m.