Weevils lose
Ugly fielding costs Piedmont in 9-5 defeat

BY MIKE LONDON
SALISBURY POST

But that doesn’t mean he won’t try.

Piedmont’s ugly 9-5 loss to Delmarva (20-17) on an otherwise pleasant afternoon was memorable mostly because of Hannahan’s Bad News Weevil sort of day. More precisely, because of Hannahan’s don’t-lose-faith eighth.

Piedmont (25-12) led 4-3 heading into the eighth and seemed to have recovered nicely from Saturday’s rain-shortened debacle.

But then reliever Franklin Perez, who had extracted Piedmont from a mess in the sixth, yielded three consecutive singles to load the bases. After Perez finally got an out, Piedmont manager Greg Legg called for lefty Mark Outlaw, who quickly got the second out. He should have gotten the third, as well, because the next batter, Ray Cabrera, whacked a grounder to the right side.

The ball was hit to the left of second baseman Hannahan, who raced over to cut it off. Unfortunately for Hannahan, the ball deflected off his glove, bounced off his shoulder, and skidded into short right field. Two runs scored and the Weevils, in charge all day, suddenly trailed 5-4.

It was not the easiest play in the world; it was also not the most difficult.

“What hurt was that Buzz didn’t keep the ball in the infield,” said Legg. “You’re taught to keep it in front. If Buzz can just knock it down, the game’s only tied. Instead, we’re behind.”

Outlaw had made a pitch good enough to escape the inning. Instead, his troubles were only starting. Mamon Tucker followed with a two-run double. Just like that — 7-4.

Then Legg summoned Justin Fry from the pen. The first batter Fry faced dribbled one up the middle a few inches out of the reach of the luckless Hannahan. Boom — 8-4.

Still, the Weevils didn’t quit. After two outs, they went to work in their half of the eighth. Jorge Padilla singled. Brian Hitchcox singled. Tom Batson singled to make it 8-5. Jeremy Deitrick walked to fill the bases.

Now the tying run was aboard and someone had a chance to be a hero. That someone, of course, was No. 9 hitter Hannahan, a likeable 23-year-old, 31st-round draft pick from Minneapolis, who plays where he’s asked and when he’s asked and always gives everything he has.

But as he walked toward the plate, Hannahan was batting .195. His eight hits on the year had all been singles. And he had yet to drive in a run. Not a single RBIin 40-plus at-bats.

The rather sparse Mother’s Day crowd buzzed, wondering who Legg would tab to pinch hit for Hannahan? Would it be Russ Jacobson? Perhaps Carlos Acevedo. Maybe Shomari Beverly.

The surprising answer, however, was none of the above. Legg said to heck with the stat-sheet and went with his heart. You could understand it. He wanted to give Hannahan every chance to redeem himself. Just maybe because Hannahan reminds him a little of another unheralded infielder who scratched and clawed all the way to the big leagues for 22 precious at-bats 13 years ago. That unheralded infielder’s name was Greg Legg.

Hannahan battled against Delmarva reliever Travis Fleming. He worked the count. He got a pitch he could handle. In a perfect world, Hannahan’s fly ball to right drops for a two-run single. This is not a perfect world. Keith Reed floated over and nonchalantly grabbed Hannahan’s soft drive one-handed.

“Buzz had a good at-bat,” said Legg, sadly. “It just wasn’t in the cards for him today.”

Maybe next time, though, it will be. At least Buzz knows his manager believes in him.

It was not a good day to be a Piedmont fan. Delmarva scored seven of its runs with two outs, including five in the disastrous eighth. And now Legg has to figure out how to rebound from rare back-to-back losses.

“Seven two-out runs will do you in pretty much every time,” he said. “Delmarva’s come in here and outscored us 16-5. They’ve got 16 runs in just 14 innings.They’ve taken it right to us.”

n

NOTES: Tonight, West Rowan celebs Scooter Sherrill, Mike Gurley and Kari Schenk will throw out ceremonial first pitches on WFNZ 610 Jam Pack / Tribute of Scooter Sherrill Night.” ... Hickory lost to Charleston (S.C.), so the Weevils still lead the ‘Dads by a game and a half. ... Delmarva, which has won four straight, is third. ... Outfielder Marlon Byrd and pitcher Adam Walker were named minor league players of the month for the Philadelphia organization. .... Weevil outfielder Jay Sitzman began Sunday as the South Atlantic League’s top hitter at .356. He went 1-for-5 to fall to .349. Sitzman, who stole three bases, also hit a bullet off the second baseman that was ruled an error by the official scorer, but might be changed to a base hit upon further review. ... For now, Sitzman trails teammate Nate Espy, who went 2-for-5 to improve to .356. ... Weevil starter Frank Brooks retired 14 straight before “running out of gas” in the sixth. ... Batson, who’s hitting a murderous .414 in his 29 at-bats, knocked in two runs. ... Reed socked a homer in the ninth.