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KANNAPOLIS — Frank Brooks sang an aria to an empty theater Wednesday night.
A paid crowd of 848 watched the Boll Weevils’ left-handed pitcher bask in the spotlight at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium, where Piedmont collected a 5-1 South Atlantic League victory over Capital City.
“I think Frankie had something to prove tonight,” manager Greg Legg revealed after Brooks (12-8) earned his first win since Aug. 3. “He’s been working with (pitching coach) Rod (Nichols) in the bullpen on a mechanical problem. It has to do with bending his front leg a little more. Tonight he concentrated and pitched a great game.”
Brooks, who had dropped his past three decisions, snapped out of a late-season funk with a front-page performance. He worked eight fast-paced innings and allowed only three hits and an unearned run. His nine strikeouts gave him a team-high 129 this season.
“The problem was I wasn’t following through right,” said Brooks, who has yielded 16 home runs this year. “It’s kinda like I was holding back. Tonight, I was thinking about it the first couple innings. After that I just got competitive and started throwing it by them and hitting my spots.”
Brooks used a crisp fastball, a changeup and a 12-to-6 breaking ball to ground the visiting Bombers. More importantly, he used his head.
“He took the things we worked on in the bullpen and brought them into the game,” said Nichols. “If his front leg does what it’s supposed to do, there will be more movement on his ball. That leads to more pop-ups instead of line drives into the gaps.”
The Weevils (38-21, 85-45 overall) won for the sixth time in eight games and extended their Northern Division lead over idle Delmarva to one full game. They supported Brooks with an 11-hit attack that included solo home runs by Marlon Byrd, Jay Sitzman and Buzz Hannahan, who went yard for the first time as a professional.
“I was never the guy hitting home runs at any level, and I never will be,” Hannahan beamed after his fifth-inning blast cleared the Carolina Blonde sign in left field and gave Piedmont a 2-0 lead. “I do other things to help the team. Home runs? I let the big boys do that.”
The big boys gave Hannahan the silent treatment after he rounded the bases. “They were big-leagueing me,” he said. “You know, pretending like it wasn’t a big deal to hit one out.”
Byrd’s home run certainly was. His 17th of the year came in the last of the first against losing pitcher Frank Graham and gave him a league-leading 92 RBIs. A mile-high missile, it was in the books while it was still in the air.
“That was so high,” said Legg. “Byrdie is just so strong when he gets a hold of one.”
After Hannahan’s power display, teammate Jorge Padilla’s sacrifice fly and Brian Hitchcox’s run-scoring double gave the Weevils a 4-0 lead through five innings.
Cap City spoiled Brooks’ shutout bid — it would have been his third and the team’s 14th — with a run in the eighth. Melvin Seale reached on a bunt single, advanced to third on an error and scored when Brad Wright lofted a sac fly to center field.
“Shomari (Beverly) made a couple of good catches in center,” said Brooks, who induced 11 flyouts. “I was ready to back up a base a few times. But the next thing I knew I was walking back to the dugout.”
Sitzman closed the scoring when he belted an eighth-inning homer against relief pitcher Orlando Encarnacion. Piedmont reliever Matt Bailie sealed the deal with a scoreless ninth, securing a much-needed victory for Brooks.
“It felt good,” said Brooks, who will count 22 candles on his next birthday cake in two weeks. “But I’d rather pitch in front of some people. I always appreciate the crowds here. That would be nice.”
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NOTES: The Weevils are 40 games over .500 for the first time and have tied a franchise record for victories in a season (85), matching the 1995 squad’s total. There are 12 regular-season games remaining, beginning tonight when Piedmont right-hander Brett Myers goes for his league-best 14th victory.
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