Grand slam propels Lumberjacks to win

By Jerry Holsworth - sports@nvdaily.com

WOODSTOCK -- Covington exploded for seven runs punctuated by a grand slam by Lumberjack left fielder Adam Browett in the third inning then rode the pitching of Benedy Mejia to demolish Woodstock on Monday in Valley League action at Woodstock.

"That's baseball," River Bandits manager Donn Foltz said. "We just couldn't hit our spots when we needed to. After the grand slam, we just took a nose dive. That happens. You just hope that it doesn't happen that often."

River Bandit starting pitcher Alex Burkard began the game as though he was going to dominate Covington. Registering three straight strikeouts in the second, he headed into the third with a 3-1 lead. But after walking the first two batters he faced in the third, Burkard hit Richie Rodriguez with a pitch to load the bases for Browett with no outs. Struggling to hit the strike zone, Burkard served up a ball that Browett was able to drive deep over the center-field fence to put the Lumberjacks up 5-2.

A Covington single resulted in two more runs in the inning, giving them a commanding 8-3 lead.

While the Lumberjack bats were making short work of River Bandit pitching, Mejia, after a slow start, was mowing down Woodstock batters consistently through the next five innings. The Seton Hall sophomore got the next 11 River Bandits out in order, and pitched to just 16 Woodstock batters from the third to the eighth inning. He went 8 2/3 innings before being relieved by Matthew Reed, allowing just three runs on five hits. He struck out 13, and walked just two.

"We just had a bad inning that's all," Woodstock's Eric Kroll said. "For the rest of the game we scored three runs and they scored three runs. That's about as close as it can get. I don't think anyone is discouraged by what happened tonight."

Woodstock began the game with a flurry, and looked as though they were going to be the team to beat. After the Lumberjack scored a run in the top of the first, the River Bandits answered with a two-run first. Kroll got the key hit, a two-run double to center that scored Jonathan Kosco and Stephen Hunt. The River Bandits scored again in the second, this time off a single by Kosco that scored Matthew Blow.

"After I had seen a couple of his pitches I pretty much knew what to expect," Kroll said. "He gave me a ball high and outside, and I drove it."

Burkard took the loss, allowing eight runs on two hits through 2 2/3 innings on the mound. He walked three and struck out four.

"We've had a couple of bad ones this year," Foltz said. "But we've also had a couple of good ones too. It just seems that certain teams have our number, and Covington seems to be one of them."