Shain Shuts Out Heritage as Spartans Win 6th Straight

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The way Cole Shain has been pitching lately, a one-run deficit feels more like five. Heritage spotted Shain and his Broad Run Spartans two runs in the first inning of Monday night’s Dulles District matchup, making a potential upset even more difficult. After Broad Run’s lead ballooned to 7-0 in the fifth, the game was all but over.

Shain (4-0) pitched six shutout innings, giving up four hits and one walk while striking out seven – including five in a row during one stretch – and Broad Run’s bats came alive on a cold night in Leesburg as the Spartans won their sixth straight, 7-0.

“They hit Cole around a little bit tonight, but when he settles in, we’re a good team,” Broad Run coach Pat Cassidy said. “That’s why he’s an all-league kid and an early D-1 kid, because when he throws the ball the way he’s capable of, we can get a lot of strikeouts. The ball’s in play every once in a while, but when he throws the ball well, we’re a good team.”

The Spartans (7-1, 3-0 AA Dulles) got on the board early against Heritage senior starter John Rogerson when Shain helped himself by driving in Andrew Mann – who was hit by a pitch to lead off the game – on a single. Shain advanced to third on a two-base throwing error by Rogerson and scored on Trey Brocke’s groundout to give Broad Run a 2-0 advantage.

Rogerson, one of only two returning starters from Heritage’s 2007 squad, struggled with his control all night. He gave up seven runs – five earned – on four hits in five innings and walked four and hit three batters. The senior righty who nearly led the Pride to an upset of Potomac Falls a week ago seemed to settle in when he got through the third and fourth unscathed, but the Spartans broke things open in the fifth.

Mann and Chris Jessop drew back-to-back walks and following a pop-out, Brocke was hit by a pitch to load the bases. First baseman Ryan Diviney smacked a two-run single to bring in Mann and Jessop and two batters later, Adam Luhmann’s double to the base of the right field wall plated Brocke and Diviney.

“We gave them too many free bases,” Heritage coach Ryan Price said. “A lot of walks and hit by pitches. When (Rogerson) is loose and ready to go, he shuts down guys pretty good. He shut down Potomac Falls last week, but he just wasn’t on tonight.”

Luhmann and Diviney led the Spartans with two RBIs each and six different Broad Run players crossed home plate. Mann scored two runs and stole two bases and Diviney and Patrick Murphy each had one stolen base. Defensively, the Spartans were nearly flawless, committing no errors and picking off two Pride base-runners.

“We’re moving well on the bases, we’re striking the ball well and we had a couple well-hit outs,” Cassidy said. “Some nights the offense is going to be there, and if we hold teams down, we’re going to hang around in games. But it’s nice when we start hitting too because then we can relax. You know you’ve got a really good pitcher on the mound, we can play defense behind him … so when you’re not making errors with a great arm on the mound and now you start swinging it, it’s sort of a simple formula.”

Junior shortstop Brenton Peters had two singles to lead the Pride (2-6, 1-2), but he was picked off in the sixth, ending one of Heritage’s few scoring threats. Nick Clayton was also caught in a run-down after singling with one out in the third. Better base-running could’ve turned into a run as Peters slapped a single into right field a few pitches later.

“We made a lot of mistakes tonight,” Heritage coach Ryan Price said. “We’ve faced (Shain) before and been successful. We just couldn’t get anything going consistently – a hit here or there and then we’d get picked off or make another mistake. We didn’t execute tonight.”

The Pride return to the field tomorrow when they visit Briar Woods. Meanwhile, the Spartans head home to host Loudoun County – provided they can get their puddle-filled field ready for competition.

“We want to play games right now,” Cassidy said. “We’re throwing strikes on the mound with a couple different guys, we’re swinging the bats, we’re scoring runs. Of all the people that want to play right now, we really want to play. We were scheduled to play three times this week and I hope we can play. To be honest, we’re playing pretty well right now, and I know it’s early in the season, but now we’re getting to the middle and we’re starting to maintain some consistency.”

Notes: Senior Adam Luhmann came on to pitch one scoreless inning in relief of Shain for the Spartans, allowing no hits and one walk. It was Luhmann’s first pitching appearance since returning from a torn labrum suffered during the 2006 football season. “I’m thrilled to death he was able to get out there and get an inning.”

Extra Points

By Paul Tenorio and Matt Brooks