Spartans Hammer Louisa to Reach Region Final, State Tournament

By Matt Brooks (Contact)

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Cole Shain's head jerked back over his right shoulder as he watched his second pitch of the night sail over the left center field wall. The blast off Louisa County sophomore Kurt Fleming's bat was the first home run given up by Broad Run's senior ace all season and Fleming's teammates mobbed him at home plate.

This instance, however, would be the Lions' only reason to celebrate all night as the Spartans jumped all over their guests in Wednesday's Region II semifinal, cruising to a 10-1 victory and a spot in the Virginia state tournament.

Broad Run's lefty settled in after the lead-off homer and the Spartans gave him plenty of support with a run in the bottom half of the inning and six more in the second to take a 7-1 lead. With solid defense behind him, Shain was in control the rest of the way, leading the second-seeded Spartans to their 13th straight victory and their first state tournament appearance since 1996.

Photo: Matt Brooks

Louisa County sophomore starter Gunnar Carroll delivers a pitch to Broad Run's senior center fielder, Andrew Mann, in Wednesday's Region II semifinal game in Ashburn. Mann had two hits and scored two runs as the Spartans beat the Lions 10-1 to advance to Friday's regional championship game.

"I got whiplash there," Shain quipped. "But you settle yourself in and do what you do best. With our offense the way it is now, you shouldn't feel any pressure out there. Seven-to-one after the first inning, that's pretty good backup."

The Spartans' offense - which has now put up at least seven runs in each of its last three contests - was clicking from the outset against Louisa sophomore Gunnar Carroll. Senior center fielder Andrew Mann led off the bottom of the first with a double down the left field line and senior shortstop Chris Jessop brought him around with a single to left to tie things up at 1-1.

Carroll showed off some high heat, striking out two Spartans two get out of the inning, but Broad Run (21-4) forced him to throw 24 pitches in the first inning and 42 in the following frame as 10 men came to the plate to blow the game wide open.

After Kurt Reitzel flew out to right field to lead off the bottom of the second, Carroll struck out J.P. Devlin for the second out, but that's when the Spartans' started their rally. Junior Patrick Murphy singled to left and stole second base on the next pitch. Mann brought him home with an RBI single to left and then moved to second on an errant pick-off attempt by Carroll. After a walk to Jessop, senior first baseman Ryan Diviney singled up the middle to drive in Mann. Senior catcher Tommy Meier drew another walk from Carroll and Shain helped himself with an RBI single up the middle. Trey Brocke then smashed a bases-clearing three-run double to the right field wall and the Spartans had a 7-1 lead.

"It seems like that's what we've done is have big innings," Cassidy said. "A lot of those at-bats were with two outs. Nobody's panicking, nobody's trying to do it all with one swing. We had a couple doubles but a bunch of singles, too. It's just what we've done all year: singles, steal a base here or there, move them…no ball hit 400 feet."

Broad Run got three more insurance runs in the fifth on an RBI single from Reitzel and an RBI double from Devlin. All nine hitters scored at least once on the night - two via courtesy runners - and eight Spartans had at least one hit and drove in at least one run. Brocke led the way with three RBIs on a double, a triple and a single, and Mann finished with two hits and an RBI with two runs scored.

"It's hard to prepare for us because we've got a whole bunch of good hitters, not one great hitter," Cassidy said. "We'll start a rally in the bottom of the lineup, top of the lineup, wherever we can."

Carroll allowed 10 runs - nine earned - on 10 hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in five innings of work for the Lions (20-5). Shain allowed only five hits total after surrendering two in the opening frame, striking out three and walking one for his ninth win of the season.

The Spartans, who also set a school record for wins in a season with their 21st on Wednesday night, advance to Friday's regional final where they will meet either top-seeded Brentsville or a familiar foe - the Potomac Falls Panthers. If it's the Tigers, Broad Run will travel to Brentsville, but if Potomac Falls pulled the upset, the Spartans will host the Panthers in the two teams' fourth meeting this year. Brocke - who beat the Panthers 8-2 in last Thursday's Dulles District championship game - will be on the mound for Broad Run.

"That's what you play for," Cassidy said. "Your goal is to get into the postseason. We won't come relaxed on Friday. Whether it's Potomac Falls or Brentsville, home or away, we'll try to beat whoever we play. It's nice to be able to say we're there, let's see where it takes us, but I don't think our guys should be satisfied."

Tagged: baseball, Broad Run High School, high school sports

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