Eagles Pound out victory over Dreher

Airport’s Stuart Pound runs to third base against Dreher. Pound pitched a shut–out and went 2–for–4 from the plate.

With Friday, April 16’s 6–0 win over Dreher, the Airport Eagles put themselves in great position to win Region 5–3A.

“We’re 17–4 right now, one win away from clinching our region championship. Tonight’s win has us one step closer,” Airport coach John Johnson said.

While Airport had more than enough offensive output to win the game, it was Stuart Pound who led the way for the Eagles with his pitching. Pound pitched a complete game giving up zero runs on two hits, and he struck out six batters.

Pound helped his own cause early on. He drew a one out walk, and then cashed it in when he scored following a double from Jordan Williams to give Airport an early 1–0 lead.

In the top of the third, Airport added to its lead. A one out walk to Derek Cushman gave the Eagles a runner on. When Dreher pitcher Bud Jeter tried to pick off Cushman at first, his throw got away from the first baseman and allowed Cushman to advance to second. Cushman later advanced to third courtesy of a balk. A sacrifice fly by W.T Murden brought Cush- man in to make the score 2–0.

Airport took a 3–0 lead into the top of the fifth. It started with a walk to Murden and was followed by a double by Zack Hawley advancing Murden to third. The next batter, Dylan Parker, hit a double, scoring Murden to make the score 4–0. The next batter, Casey Parker, scored Dylan with a single pushing the score to 5–0. Later in the inning, Ryan Sturkie scored from a single hit by Pound to give the Eagles a 6–0 lead.

That was all the support Pound needed. He only allowed one hit the final three innings, while striking out four batters in that same span to preserve the win for the Eagles.

“I thought we played great. Stuart Pound pitched a heck of a game. They only got two hits, and when they hit the ball, our defense played great. We got the outs when we needed them. It’s a big confidence builder for our hitters and Stuart Pound as a pitcher,” coach Johnson said.