 | | | 4/8/2008 12:01:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article |  | Staff Photo: Su Anderson
Brookwood’s Jordan Erisman hustles back to first base during the game against Parkview on Monday. The Broncos broke open the game in the fifth inning and won 8-3. |
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Hawkins leads Brookwood past rival
By David Friedlander
Staff Writer
LILBURN - Chase Hawkins came up clutch for Brookwood on the mound and at the plate in Monday night's Region 8-AAAAA showdown against Parkview.
The senior left-hander threw a complete game three-hitter as the No. 2 state-ranked Broncos downed the No. 6 Panthers 8-3 at Hugh Buchanan Field. Hawkins also went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs at the plate, including a two-run double that keyed a six-run fifth inning.
"He set the tone offensively and he set the tone pitching-wise, too," Brookwood coach Rick Howard said of Hawkins after his big night helped the Broncos (14-1, 2-0) into a tie with Grayson for the early-season region lead. Brookwood plays the Rams tonight at the Dave Hunter Complex.
"You couldn't ask a kid to have a bigger night than he did," Howard said.
Hawkins (7-0) went the distance, giving up just three hits and three unearned runs while striking out six. He cruised through the first three innings by retiring the first nine Parkview (12-4, 1-1) hitters he faced.
Brookwood took a 2-0 lead on Grayson Flack's bases-loaded walk and Hawkins' sacrifice fly. But the lead could've been even bigger as Parkview's Bronson Gagner (3-2) limited the damage despite the Broncos putting six runners in scoring position in the second and third innings.
It looked like the Broncos' failure to break the game open might come back to haunt them as Parkview began to get better swings at Hawkins the second time through the batting order.
The Panthers took advantage of two Brookwood errors and got an RBI infield single from Matt Foster and an RBI fielder's choice by Brandon Jacobs to tie the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth.
But the Broncos answered by taking advantage of Gagner's wildness in the top of the fifth.
The right-hander hit Ross Heffley after getting ahead in the count 1-2. Then he clipped Ryan Lewis and Seth Adkins with pitches just off the inside corner to load the bases with nobody out.
"We went inside a lot (Monday) night," Parkview coach Chan Brown said. "A couple of balls got away from (Gagner)."
Robbie Freeman - who finished the night 2-for-4 - put Brookwood back in front 3-2 with an RBI single to left, which brought Hawkins to the plate. The senior rifled a double to the gap in right-center that brought home two more runs.
Jonathan Robinson then laced a two-run home run off the foul pole in left field to give the Broncos an 8-2 cushion.
Parkview got one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning on Michael Frazier's single, a passed ball, a wild pitch and Josh Hall's RBI ground out to third.
But Hawkins made another adjustment by working in his change-up more, which helped him retire eight of the last nine Panthers he faced to close out the game.
The effectiveness of his curve also helped him record 11 groundball outs, which is usually a big key against a hard-hitting Parkview team in the cozy confines of Buchanan Field.
"The second time around (the order), (Parkview) caught on to my pitches," Hawkins said. "We hadn't worked in the change-up and that was the goal the third time around. We hammered them with the change, and we got a lot of groundballs."
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Sunday, August 03, 2008 
