Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Fitzgerald clubs Demons
Corey Fitzgerald hits a solo home run in the fifth inning to put Salem ahead for good.
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Salem designated hitter Corey Fitzgerald admits he made a mistake, but it’s the kind of mistake his team will take every time.
Fitzgerald faced a 1-2 count in the fifth inning of a tied River Ridge District tournament game with Christiansburg . Fitzgerald said all he wanted to do was put the ball in play. Blasting it over the left-center field wall was not the plan. So much for those intentions.
Fitzgerald’s blast proved to be the game-winning RBI en route to an 8-3 final. Third-seeded Salem (8-12) ousted the Blue Demons from the tournament and ended their season. The Spartans will face second-seeded Blacksburg in a semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Pulaski’s Calfee Park.
Fitzgerald tallied two more RBIs in the bottom of the sixth when a check swing sent the ball back to the mound, inches below the glove of pitcher Seth Martin and into center field. Jonathan Clemo, who led off the inning with a hit, came home followed by Evan Fisher, who was on courtesy of a walk.
Two more runs scored in the inning when relief pitcher Chris Breeden was rudely greeted by Seth Fisher. Fisher’s hard liner struck Breeden in the heel and bounded through left field into foul territory.
Christiansburg runs came on a Nate Hiner blast over the left-field wall in the third inning. Hunter Spahr scored in the top of the seventh when he reached on an error, went to second on a walk, stole third and came home on a Wes Bond sacrifice fly to the deepest part of the yard.
Salem senior left-hander Brett Demole allowed two earned runs on five hits while striking out four and issuing three walks, only one in the first six innings.
“I was just trying to hit my spots today,” Demole said. “I made a mistake on the home run. I was trying to throw it low and outside, and I threw it belly-button high on the inside of the plate.
“[Hiner] is a great hitter and I respect him; I was just mad at myself for missing the spot.”
Demole made a statement with his bat, hitting lead-off for Salem and roping a double to the left in his first at-bat. After the next two batters were retired, Carter Williamson walked, then came home with Demole on a double by Joshua Lawrence to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead a
