 | | | 3/18/2008 12:01:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | No. 1 Broncos hammer Walton
By David Friedlander
Staff Writer
SNELLVILLE - Faced with perhaps its toughest test in a very taxing pre-Region 8-AAAAA schedule, Brookwood's baseball team came up with a very strong effort Monday night.
The state's top-ranked team took advantage of four Walton errors, got a strong pitching performance by Chase Hawkins and 10 hits - three by Jordan Erisman - to beat the defending Class AAAAA state champion Raiders 9-2 at the Dave Hunter Complex.
Hawkins (3-0) baffled the usually powerful bats of Walton (4-2 and ranked No. 4 in the state) before tiring in the sixth inning. He kept his pitches down in the strike zone and tied the Raiders up on the inside corner. That helped Hawkins to six strikeouts and seven ground ball outs in that time, which was something the Georgia-bound left-hander hoped to accomplish in his game plan.
"I had a talk with (Brookwood pitching) coach (Brian Albury) and we knew some of (Walton's) guys had slow hands," said Hawkins, who scattered six hits and just two earned runs in 52⁄3 innings for the game. "And it worked. We tried to keep the ball low and in, and we have great infielders and great defense in general, and we got a lot of ground balls."
The ability of the Broncos (7-0) in the field - and Walton's inability there in key situations - along with a fortunate break, combined for a key early turning point in the game.
In the second inning, Walton catcher Spencer Kieboom led off with a double off the scoreboard in left-center field.
With courtesy runner Wole Imoukhuede on third and two away, it looked like the Raiders would take the lead when a Hawkins pitch went in the dirt and got away from catcher Seth Adkins, apparently allowing Imoukhuede to dash home with the game's first run.
However, the pitch struck hitter Cory Leff in the foot before getting away from the plate area, and while the Raiders' left fielder was awarded first base, it also created a dead ball situation and sent Imoukhuede back to third.
Hawkins then bore down and induced Nick Spier into a grounder up the middle, which second baseman Ross Heffley cleanly fielded and flipped to Erisman at the bag to end the Walton threat and keep the game scoreless.
"That's a difference between Chase this year and last year," Broncos coach Rick Howard said. "(In a tight situation), he calms down and focuses on what he has to do. He's grown up tremendously in that area.
"(Getting out of the inning) set the tone early. ... That's what's good about Chase. He gave us an opportunity to do something while the game was still tied."
The Broncos rewarded Hawkins' work in the bottom of the inning by taking advantage of two Walton errors and grabbing a 1-0 lead on Erisman's clutch, two-out RBI single.
An inning later, Brookwood struck for two more runs on RBI doubles from Ronnie Freeman and Buddy Jones to make the score 3-0.
The Broncos then pounced on two more Raider errors to score another run in the fourth and five more in the fifth - keyed by two-run singles from Jonathan Robinson and Ryan Lewis and an RBI double from Heffley - to break the game wide open.
"We didn't help ourselves out," Walton coach Shane Amos said. "When you play good teams, you've got to make plays, and we didn't. The bottom line is, (Brookwood) took advantage when we made mistakes. Good teams do that."
In addition to Erisman's three hits, Brookwood also got a 2-for-4 day with two RBIs from Lewis.
Michael Brown came on in relief when Hawkins tired and finished the game with 11⁄3 scoreless innings.
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Monday, August 04, 2008 
