Witches start fast to defeat Broncos> Brewer makes long wait worthwhile

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BREWER – It took almost two weeks before the Brewer Witches were able to play their fourth game of the season, but they made it worth the wait for the 152 fans who braved the clammy conditions Thursday night with a solid 9-3 win over Hampden Academy at Heddericg Field.

A scheduling quirk and the recent rainstorms combined to give the Witches the equivalent of a second, albeit unwanted, vacation.

“We’ve even been inside practicing on rainy days and I don’t think most teams went inside, but we had to do it because we haven’t played in 11 days,” said Brewer starting pitcher Bruce Morneault (2-1). “We really haven’t been outside in game conditions for awhile, so it took a little while to get back in the groove.”

Two innings, to be exact. After allowing two runs on four Hampden hits making three errors in the first two innings, both the defense and Morneault not only settled down, they got stronger.

Brewer’s righthander went on to allow only three more hits the rest of the way en route to a six-strikeout, three-walk, complete-game victory.

“I usually have a rough one or two innings, and then I settle down,” said Morneault, who threw 102 pitches. “It takes me a little longer for me to get my slider, which is my key pitch, to come in.”

While Morneault was mastering his slider and the Broncos’ lineup, Brewer’s batters’ were homing in on HA pitcher Jason Littlefield.

Down 2-1 in the bottom of the third, the Witches loaded the bases for the second straight inning. Littlefield appeared on the verge of escape again after the next two batters struck out and flied out, but No. 8 hitter Robbie Achorn’s grounder through the hole on the right side of the infield scored two runs. Ryan Snell followed with the first of his three hits on the day, an RBI single through the left side.

“I felt when we scored those runs at that time that we really needed those since it was our second bases-loaded situation,” said Brewer coach David Morris. “We didn’t come through the first time, but we did the second. After that, I felt we took charge of the game and took advantage of a couple of their mistakes.”

Brewer made it 6-2 in the fourth on Ben Blood’s 335-foot, two-run shot over the left field fence and 8-2 in the fifth thanks to three Hampden errors.

“We’re a young team with just two seniors and two returning starters that hasn’t jelled yet at all,” said Broncos coach Jack Merrithew. “There’s just not a lot of good communication going on in the field and we just continue to make mistakes.”

Hampden got a run back in the sixth on a leadoff home run to left by catcher Ben Preston (2-for-3, two RBIs), but that would be the last hurrah. Brewer capped the scoring with Ben Deane’s two-out RBI flare single just over the infield dirt and a diving second baseman.

“You don’t need the home run. Just a little blooper or a nice hard single will do it,” said Morneault, who along with Morneault, helped pace Brewer’s offense. Each had two hits and an RBI.

“I think this was a crucial win, not just because we had 11-12 days off, but because we’ve got a doubleheader tomorrow and to prove to the kids we have what it takes to win a lot of games,” Morris said.

Witches 9, Broncos 3

Hampden (3-5) Brewer (2-2)

Name ab r h bi Name ab r h bi

Drummond,ss 4 0 0 0 Pinkham, cf 3 0 0 0

Littlefield,p-2b 3 1 2 0 Deane, ss 5 2 2 1

Preston, c 3 1 2 2 B.Morneault,p 4 2 2 1

Trask, dh 3 0 0 0 Blood, dh 3 2 1 2

Basso, 2b-p 0 0 0 0 Largay, 3b 0 0 0 0

Gilbert, rf 3 0 0 0 Johnson, lf 3 1 1 0

Tyler, 3b 3 1 2 0 Thomas, 1b 2 0 1 0

Waite, 1b 2 0 1 0 Gonzales, 1b 1 0 0 0

Groshon, cf 3 0 0 0 Morneault, c 4 0 0 0

McCarthy, lf 1 0 0 0 Achorn, rf 4 0 1 2

a-McCue 1 0 0 0 Snell, 2b 3 2 3 1

Totals 26 3 7 2 Totals 32 9 11 7

a-struck out for McCarthy in seventh

Hampden Academy 110 001 0 – 3

Brewer 103 221 x – 9

E – Drummond 2, Preston 2, Tyler; Pinkham, Deane, T.Morneault 2B – Littlefield HR – Blood (1) LOB – Hampden 6; Brewer 12 DP – Basso-Littlefield-Waite SB – Preston, Waite; Deane, Snell, Johnson S – T. Morneault

PITCHER IP H R ER BB SO

Hampden

Littlefield (L,1-1) 3 1/3 7 6 5 6 3

Basso 2 2/3 4 3 1 1 2

Brewer

B.Morneault (W,2-1) 7 7 3 2 3 6

HBP – McCarthy (by Morneault) PB – Preston 3 BK – Morneault TIME – 2:22 ATTENDANCE – 152