Big 5th Seals Win For Thunder

   

     On Wednesday the first of June, the DHYS 12U baseball moved a little closer intown this week to play in the Buckhead Classic.  Nothing against what they have going on in Acworth, but Frankie Allen Park is something special.  From deluxe, behind the plate, covered seating to PA announcers and a huge scoreboard, this park has it all.  The Thunder, ready to play in their black uniforms marveled at the manicured field. Their opponent, the Dunwoody Mustangs wore grey jerseys and red hats. The umpires walked on the field around 8:20 and promptly took control of the game. Looking every bit the part, the home plate ump called for "balls in" and Kenny Andrews stepped in the batters box and looked at the first pitch at 8:27, with the temperature still in the low 90's.  Two walks and three singles gave the Thunder a 3-0 lead in the first. Coach Phil was not sure what to do with an early lead, but decided to try it on for size anyway.
     James Huey was on the mound for the Thunder and had some early control issues. A fielding error didn't help the matter and the Mustangs pushed across a run.  With the bases loaded and one out, Huey got the sixth hitter, Souther, to hit a sharp grounder to the SS Jack Purdy, who came home with the ball to force the runner out and prevent the run from scoring. Huey was in the groove now and struck out the last batter to keep the score at 3-1.
     In the second, the Thunder went down 1-2-3 with nice clean fielding by the Dunwoody club.  A leadoff double by Viersen got things going for the Mustangs and they were able to tie up the game at 3 heading to the third.  Once again, the Thunder could not get anything going and only sent three men to the plate.  Mashman came on to pitch and a walk, a single to left and a bunt single had the bases loaded with Mustangs.  Another walk put the Mustangs up 4-3. With the bases still loaded, Ben played the ricochet of a wild pitch perfectly and beat the runner to home plate and applied the tag. A strikeout and a pop-up to the pitcher ended the inning.
     The fourth started with a single by Ryan Murray. Ryan promptly stole second and moved to 3rd on a wild pitch. Jarrett Jones drove him home with a sharp hit ball to the SS. The score was tied 4-4. The bottom of the fourth was quick and easy for Mashman and the Thunder as they got three quick outs.  The 5th inning had a little bit of everything. Monster reached on an error, followed by a single by G-Man. After a wild-pitch, the runners moved up to 2nd and 3rd. Sprat came up and smashed a ball to the third baseman. Mashman was moving on contact and was thrown out at home on a perfectly executed play. Next, with runners on the corners, Noah was hit by pitch to load the bases. With two outs, Max hit a single for an RBI and Ryan came up big with a bases clearing double to give the Thunder an 8-4 advantage. Mashman stayed out there on the mound for the last chance for the Mustangs. After a walk and two quick outs, things got interesting. The bases were loaded with Mustangs and Mashman needed to make a pitch. He induced a ground ball from the Dunwoody batsman and Jack made a quick throw and on a bang-bang play, the game ended 8-5 in favor of the Thunder.