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Milton finishes regular season in GRAND SLAM style with 12-1 win over Centennial
by Milton Baseball on 05/01/11
The Milton Eagles traveled to Centennial High School Friday night for the final regular season game of the 2011 season. It was senior night at Centennial as the hosts set out a grand tribute for the 9 seniors on the Knight's roster. When the game started, however, it was the Milton Eagles that looked grand in all areas of the game, as they took command early and finished strong for a 12-1 win over Centennial. The Eagles appear to be heading into the playoffs at just the right time and closed out what was potentially the best week of the year as they went 3-0 in key region games and outscored their opponents 32-8. With the win, Milton finishes the regular season with an 18-7 record. Milton tied Alpharetta with identical Region 6-AAAAA records of 8-4, but the Raiders claim the #1 seed under the regions tiebreaker rules. The 4 teams that will represent Region 6 in the playoffs are as follows:
Alpharetta
(8-4 region; 14-11 overall)
Milton
(8-4 region; 18-7 overall)
North
Forsyth (7-5 region; 18-8 overall)
Centennial (6-6 region; 16-9 overall)
Milton's starting pitcher, junior Jason Richmond, was impressive from the start, holding Centennial to 1 run on 2 hits, recording 7 strikeouts and only allowing 2 walks in the 5-inning complete-game victory. The win was Richmond's second of the season over Centennial, as the Eagles outscored the Knights 24-3 in the season series. The two game totals for Richmond, in 10 innings on the mound were dominating, with the junior allowing only 3 runs on 6 hits, while recording 13 strikeouts and only 5 walks.
Milton jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Centennial ace Sean Muller hit leadoff hitter Dalton Ewing and also plunked the next batter Luke Ewing. Dalton Ewing then scored when Ryan Gridley ripped a base hit to right field. The Eagles were then able to load the bases with no one out but Muller was able to bear down on the next three Milton hitters and come away only giving up the one run. In the bottom of the inning Centennial answered when Wright Mcraney hit a solo HR off Milton starter Jason Richman to tie the game. Little did anyone know that it would be only one of two hits for the Knight's on the evening as Richman would stay in command the rest of the way.
The Eagles would strike again for two more runs in the top
of the third when with one out Scott Slappey walked and advanced to second on a
single by Sam Knight. Chris Aichinger then blasted a double into right field
which scored Slappey and advanced Knight to third. Knight would later score on
a passed ball and after Richman shut Centennial down again in the bottom of the frame the Eagles would
take a 3-1 lead into the fourth inning where the fun was about to begin.
In the top of the fourth inning with one out Luke Ewing
would draw a walk followed by a Ryan Gridley double to right field which put
men on second and third with Scott Slappey coming to the plate. Centennial had
not given Slappey anything to hit all night and they probably regret not
sticking to that strategy because Slappey would then crush a 1-2 pitch over the
center field fence for his 6th HR of the season and the Eagles lead
was expanded to 6-1. The Eagles would score one more run in the inning when
Scott Gillespie hit a deep fly ball to center which scored Sam Knight who had
earlier reached on an error.
After an easy 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth
Milton decided that they wanted to end this game early and that is just they proceeded
to do. Matt Phillips led things off and was hit by pitch. Dalton Ewing then
singled to left field, Luke Ewing walked and Ryan Gridley reached by error which
scored the Eagles first run of the inning. Milton would still have the bases loaded with
one out when Sam Knight stepped up and promptly blasted a 0-1 fastball well
over the right center wall for a grand slam. It was Knight's second HR of the
week and the Eagles first Grand Slam of the season. Chris Aichinger followed
with his second double to close the Eagles hitting for the evening. Richman breezed
through the bottom of the fifth and with the "10 run rule" in place the Eagles
picked up their 18th win of the season.
At the plate
the Eagles had several players with hits on the night:
Sam Knight:
HR, 1B. 4 RBI, 3 Runs
Chris
Aichinger: 2 doubles and 1 RBI
Ryan
Gridley: Single, Double. 2 RBI and 2 runs scored
Scott
Slappey: HR, 3 Runs, 3 RBI
Dalton
Ewing: Single, 1 Run
Matt Phillips: Single, 1 Run
The Eagles
open up playoff action at home this Friday as they host a double header vs. Dacula.
It will be a best 2 out of 3 series with the team that wins two games advancing
to the next round.
Milton clinches playoff spot with 9-2 win over West Forsyth
by Milton Baseball on 05/01/11
The Milton Eagles traveled to West Forsyth High School Thursday night and clinched a playoff spot with a 9-2 win over the Wolverines. Milton built an early lead and held West Forsyth in check with a strong performance from the Eagle pitching staff, which did not allow an earned run.
In the first inning, the Ewing brothers (Dalton and Luke) reached on walks. Scott Slappey followed with a sacrifice fly to deep left field, scoring Dalton from third base and giving the Eagles the early lead.
The Eagles added to the lead in the second inning with an RBI single by Eric Farrell, which scored Mike Martin.
Milton scored another run in the third inning. Luke Ewing reached on his second walk of the game, and Ryan Gridley singled up the middle. Following a double steal by Ewing and Gridley, Slappey grounded out to first base, scoring Ewing from third.
The Eagles manufactured one more run in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 4-0. Mike Martin singled to left, stole second, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Jack Thompson. Martin then scored on a wild pitch.
The Milton offense put the game away in the sixth inning, scoring 5 runs and batting through the order. Thompson, Farrell, and Dalton Ewing walked to load the bases with one out. Luke Ewing then hammered an 0-2 fastball down the right-field line for a double and 2 RBIs. He advanced to third on a wild pitch, and Gridley drove him in with a sacrifice fly. Back-to-back opposite-field doubles by Slappey and Sam Knight produced the 9th and final run of the game for the Eagles.
Milton’s starting pitcher, junior Graham Officer, kept the Wolverines off balance and held them scoreless for 3 1/3 innings, allowing 6 hits, no walks, and recording 1 strikeout. Officer left the game with the bases loaded and 1 out in the fourth inning and was replaced by sophomore Matt Phillips. Phillips quickly put an end to the Wolverines' first major scoring threat by striking out the first batter he faced on three pitches. The final pitch temporarily evaded catcher Dalton Ewing, and the runner on third base attempted to score. But Ewing quickly retrieved the ball and threw a dart to Phillips, who tagged the runner before he could touch home plate. The result was a double play that ended the inning and kept the Milton lead at 4-0.
West Forsyth was able to get
on the scoreboard in the fifth inning with 2 singles followed by a two-base
throwing error, which allowed 2 Wolverine runs to score. Junior pitcher
Graham Johnson then relieved Phillips and easily retired the next three batters
to prevent further damage. Johnson finished the game for the Eagles and
was rock-solid in his 3 innings of work, allowing no runs, no hits, and no
walks, while recording 4 strikeouts.
The offense for the Eagles included:
Dalton Ewing: BB (3), 2 runs
Luke Ewing: 2B, 2 RBIs, 2 runs
Ryan Gridley: 1B, SAC
fly, RBI
Scott Slappey: 2B, 1B,
SAC fly, 2 RBIs, run
Sam Knight: 2B, 1B, RBI
Chris Aichinger: 2B
Mike Martin: 1B, 2
runs
Eric Farrell: 1B, BB,
RBI
Jack Thompson: BB (2), SAC bunt, run
With the victory, Milton
improves to 17-7 overall and 7-4 in region play. Milton’s final regular
season game is tomorrow night at Centennial.
Milton rebounds for 11-5 win over North Forsyth
by Milton Baseball on 04/27/11
A capacity crowd was in attendance tonight as numerous teams
from the Hopewell Youth Association were on hand to witness Milton's final home
game of the 2011 regular season, a pivotal matchup with the North Forsyth
Raiders. Sporting identical 5-4 records in region play, the two teams
entered tonight's contest in a three-way tie with the Centennial Knights for 2nd
place in the Region. The Eagles came out on top in this one and stopped a
two-game skid in the process, posting a decisive 11-5 win over the Raiders.
The Raiders scored 3 runs in the top of the first inning on 4 hits, including a two-run home run by right fielder Tyler Riddle. Milton responded to the challenge, however, sending eleven men to the plate in the first inning and scoring 6 runs. Freshman Dalton Ewing led the charge with a single to right field. Senior Luke Ewing was then hit by a pitch. Freshman Ryan Gridley drove in Dalton Ewing from second base with a single to left field. Senior Scott Slappey drew a walk, and senior Sam Knight reached on an error. Senior Chris Aichinger then delivered a two-RBI single to left field. After a single by senior Scott Gillespie, sophomore Matt Phillips was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Dalton Ewing then came to the plate for the second time in the inning and drove in Milton's sixth run with a sacrifice fly to center field.
Junior pitcher Max Marshall entered the game in the second inning, in relief of senior Will Thomas. Marshall provided 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief until Tyler Riddle came to the plate in the top of the fourth inning with one out and a man on first base. The Raider right fielder then hit his second home run of the night to bring the Raiders within one run of tying the score. The Milton coaches then made their second call to the bullpen, this time calling on senior Kyle Schnell who promptly retired the next two North Forsyth batters to end the Raider threat.
Milton responded with more offense in the bottom of the fourth inning. Luke Ewing got things started with an infield single, and Slappey moved him to second with a line drive single to left field. With one out and runners on first and second, senior Sam Knight then blasted a 3-2 fastball over the scoreboard in right-center field for a 3-run home run, his first of the season. Aichinger was up next and joined in the long-ball festivities with a shot of his own over the left field wall, giving Milton its first back-to-back home runs of the season. The inning ended with Milton leading 10-5.
Milton added one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning. A leadoff walk to Slappey, followed by an RBI single to right by Knight completed the scoring on the night.
Schnell handled the remainder of the pitching duties for the Eagles, going the final 3 2/3 innings and giving up only one hit and one walk, while striking out 5 along the way.
The home runs by Knight and Aichinger rounded out the cycle for the Milton position players, each position player now having hit at least one home run this season.
The offense for the Eagles included:
Dalton Ewing 1B, SAC fly RBI, run
Luke Ewing 1B, HBP(2), run
Ryan Gridley 1B, RBI, run
Scott Slappey 1B, BB(2), 2runs
Sam Knight HR, 1B, 4RBIs, 2runs
Chris Aichinger HR, 1B(2), 3RBIs, run
Scott Gillespie 1B, run
Matt Phillips HPB(2), RBI
Milton’s next game is at West Forsyth on Thursday.
