Bulldogs can't hold on as Blazers roll

MAY 12, MONTGOMERY BLAIR STADIUM--

The Blazers will enter Friday's playoff game at Whitman on an eight game roll over which they have outscored opponents 82-19. The team didn't even see the sixth inning tonight as it demolished the Churchill Bulldogs, 10-0, with a tight defensive effort and coordinated, solid offense.

Freshman Michelle Linford pitched her fourth shutout of the year and the Blazers played error-free defense. The team continued to tighten its defensive communication and fans were heartened to see balls called for and heads-up plays made throughout the game.

Offensively, the Blazers heated up the bats that had been generally cold against Quince Orchard, whom they beat 4-1 on Monday. Many Blazers continued to swing under the ball, but seniors Amy Ernst and Becca Feiden returned to the outstanding drag bunting form they have used effectively all year. Ernst scored two of the Blazers' first five, reaching both times on bunts.

The team scored four runs to open the game on a pair of bunts followed by three base hits. "It's one of the best starts we've had to any game," said Coach Louis Hoelman. "We had a lot of quality at-bats."

The Blazers were held scoreless in the third despite putting runners on second and third, but they got it back in the fourth with another three runs. The two they scored in the fifth were icing on the cake of a breezy game.

Hoelman hopes the victory will keep his team on the fast track it has put itself on leading into the county tourney. A mercy-rule victory was just the confidence builder his team needed to keep its momentum going, he said. "It was a great last regular-season game to have, to get us ready for the playoffs."

Blair's first-round playoff game will be at Whitman this Friday, May 14, at 5 p.m.