King Strikes Out 11 to Keep Hendricken Baseball Undefeated
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Defending Division I state champion Bishop Hendricken beat 2012 Division II state champion Johnston High School 5-2 on Thursday afternoon at Hendricken's Ray Pepin Field.
Hendricken right-handed pitcher and Boston College commit Michael King fought through a stingy Johnston lineup, striking out 11 hitters in a complete game effort.
The Hawks came out flying in the first inning. After center fielder Rob Henry laced a double to lead things off in the bottom of the first, he came around to score on a John Toppa single, giving the Hawks an early 1-0 lead.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe score remained 1-0 Hendricken until the top of the fourth, when the Johnston lineup was finally able to get to King. Just when it looked like King was going to strand Johnston shortstop Ryan Mckeon at third base, left fielder Mike Pennacchia stroked a single up the middle to score Mckeon, tying the game at 1-1.
However, Hendricken responded well, coming back with four runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth. Hendricken second baseman Matt Murphy broke the stalemate, hitting a double in the gap to score Kaleb Krajewski, putting the Hawks back on top 2-1. The Hendricken offense kept rolling, with Murphy and shortstop Lou Umberto scoring on a ground-rule double by Toppa, making it a 4-1 game. Henry later scored in the inning on a balk by Johnston starting pitcher Steve Perfetto, giving the Hawks a 5-1 lead.
After the Hawks regained the lead, King came out and shut down the Johnston offense, eliminating any thought Johnston had of making a comeback.
“It was a good game,” Hendricken head coach Ed Holloway said. “They battled Mike (King) right till the end. I give Johnston credit, they really battled and they're a good team.”
Johnston fought hard till the end, scraping a run in the top of the seventh against King, cutting their deficit to 5-2. However, King ended the threat with a big strikeout to end the game, stranding two Johnston base runners in scoring position.”
“Mike came through with a big strikeout in the end with runners on second and third,” Holloway said. “He pitched well. I thought he may have gotten a little tired there at the end, but I thought he pitched well for the entire game.”
Hendricken is now just one game away from finishing the season with an undefeated league record, as they'll play at Woonsocket High School on Saturday at 2 pm in their final game of the season. Although it would be a nice achievement, Holloway isn't too concerned about an undefeated season.
“It's not that big of a deal,” Holloway said. “It's funny, I haven't heard anyone on our team mention it. I'm kind of surprised. I remember teams in the past that have brought it up, but this team just focuses on one game at a time and tries to win the game that day.”
With the win, Hendricken's league record improves to 17-0, while Johnston falls to 6-11 in Division I North.
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