Published: 03:18 PM, Wed Apr 14, 2010
Terry Sanford baseball catches Pine Forest atop Mid-South
By Earl Vaughan
Scholastic sports editor
The chase for the Mid-South 4-A Conference baseball title is quickly turning into the race no one apparently wants to win.
Pine Forest had a chance to tighten its grip on first place Tuesday night, playing on its home field, but Trojan pitchers combined to walk 10 Terry Sanford batters, and the Bulldogs used those gifts to coast to an 11-2 win.
Both teams left the game tied for first place in the conference at 6-2, with South View and Jack Britt also nearby at the top of the standings.
Overall, Terry Sanford is 10-6, Pine Forest 9-6.
"Our kids came up with a couple of clutch hits,'' Terry Sanford coach Bryan Till said. "I told them we've got to learn from that and get that clutch hit to begin with.''
Terry Sanford got a solid pitching performance from Cameron Bandurraga, who held Pine Forest to two runs on four hits while striking out six.
"He gets up for big games,'' Till said. "A lot of guys have good stuff but don't compete. The kid's a competitor. He's fun to be around and fun to watch play.''
"I knew we had to win this one to stay in contention for first,'' Bandurraga said. "I was ready to win.''
Bandurraga said he mixed his fastball and curveball all night to keep the Trojan hitters off balance and never felt he was in serious trouble.
Bandurraga was buoyed by back-to-back five-run innings from his teammates that were a combination of Trojan walks and errors and key hits by the Bulldogs.
"That made me happy but we had to keep on making it because it wasn't over yet,'' Bandurraga said.
Michael Downing had the big single in both innings, twice driving in a pair of runs to give him four RBI for the game.
The Bulldogs also got a solo home run from Taylor Warren in the third inning to open their scoring.
Pine Forest was hitless after the fourth inning.
Pine Forest coach Tom Willoughby said Trojan starter and loser Juan Gloria had trouble throwing his curveball for strikes and fell behind too many hitters Tuesday night. "They had the momentum late and we couldn't get back,'' Willoughby said.
Despite the loss, Willoughby found some comfort in the fact the Trojans are tied for first place and not behind in the standings.
"We've got to have a good practice, get up for Cape Fear on Thursday and just keep playing,'' he said.
Scholastic sports editor Earl Vaughan Jr. can be reached at vaughane@fayobserver.com or 486-3519.