Central Edges Springstead, 4-3

In the end, Springstead failed to put the ball in play, while Central never really had to.

Thursday night's inter-county match-up between the winless Bears and host Eagles came down two critical strikeouts and a pair of botched pickoff attempts.

Unfortunately for Springstead, it came out on the wrong end of all them, as Central pulled out its first victory of the season, 4-3.

"It's only one game, but hopefully it sends us in the right direction," Central Head Coach Mike Ellison said. "We've struggled trying to be too perfect. I told them they've got to relax, not put the pressure on us."

That message would seem received, as the Bears (1-4) were the ones who executed in pressure situations, while Eagles (2-2) made pivotal mistakes.

Clutch pitching

With the game tied at three in the bottom of the sixth, Tyler Schoonover started the inning off with a leadoff single.

However, he got caught stealing second, which hurt even more when Ryan Clark followed with another base hit.

At that point Ellison pulled starter Mark Frederick, who allowed three runs on six hits across 5 1/3 innings of work, and put in sophomore J.T. Simpson.

Simpson issued a walk to Derek Wohlfiel, then J.R. Wright went the other way on a single to right. However, the runner was held up at third, loading the bases with one out.

With the top of the order coming up, Simpson bore down. The right-hander got the next two batters looking to escape the jam and preserve the tie.

"A lot of adrenaline," Simpson said. "I was throwing a lot of strikes, trying to hit my spots. I know they can hit the ball well, so I was trying to keep the ball down.

"I've gone through that situation before and I just tried to keep going on. If I make a mistake, forget about it and keep fighting."

Central made Simpson's efforts count in the top of the seventh. Frederick notched a leadoff single and drew a pickoff throw that sailed well above the first baseman to the fence, allowing Frederick to reach third.

Mike Forgach drew a walk and broke for second during the ensuing at-bat. The pitcher intercepted the catcher's throw and tried to snag Frederick leaning off third.

Instead the throw went by the third baseman and Frederick trotted home for the go-ahead score. Simpson struck out the side in the bottom half, sealing his first varsity win.

Frederick went 2-for-4, reached base three times and scored twice. Sal DeFranco added two hits and Louis Colaiacomo a RBI groundout.

Clark had two hits for Springstead including a run-scoring double. Schoonover chipped in two hits and a RBI, while Mike Speakman drove in a run on a single.

"Mark (Frederick) kept his pitch count down and that kept him fresh," Ellison said. "Louis Colaiacomo made two or three real great plays out in center field. We started putting the ball in play and it seemed to get better.

"They had a couple of chances with runners at third base and we just got lucky I think. Luck or not, I'll take it."

CENTRAL 4, SPRINGSTEAD 3
123 456 7 R H E
CEN 102 000 1 -- 4 7 1
SPG 011 100 0 -- 3 7 3
CEN - Frederick, Simpson (6) and Owens.
SPG - Pasarela, Angrick (4), Davis (6), Dwyer (7) and Clark.
W - Simpson (1-1). L - Davis (0-1).
2B - Clark (SPG).
3B - none.
HR - none.
Records - Central (1-4), Springstead (2-2).