Millbrook Baseball Edges Colonels, 2-1

Posted: April 3, 2015
By JERRY HOLSWORTH
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Ryan and Conor Hartigan have been a lethal offensive combination over the last two years for Millbrook’s undefeated baseball team, and that proved to be the case again Thursday when the brothers united for the winning run in a hard-fought game with James Wood Thursday at the Colonels’ R. Charles Hott Field.

The senior Ryan drove in the sophomore Conor with a double in the sixth inning to give Millbrook a 2-1 Northwestern District win. (Thursday’s game did not count toward the Conference 21 standings, but the next game between the two teams will.)

“Conor and I work pretty well as a team,” Ryan Hartigan said. “Last year he hit behind me, and he helped me score a lot of runs last year.”

With the game tied 1-1 heading into the top of the sixth, Conor Hartigan led off with a single down the left-field line, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. The Pioneer sophomore stole third to set up his older brother Ryan Hartigan with an opportunity to give Millbrook (5-0, 1-0 Northwestern) the lead.

However, Colonel starting pitcher KaCee Duggan refused to make things easy for the senior, as the count went to 3-and-2 with no outs.

Ryan Hartigan then came through with the hit of the game, sending a Duggan pitch deep into the gap in right-center field for a double. That scored Conor Hartigan from third to put the Pioneers up 2-1.

“I had a 3-1 count, and he pitched a good pitch and I just hacked at it and then it was 3-2,” Ryan Hartigan said. “I just kept my weight back on the next pitch and sent it to center field.”

Ryan Hartigan’s double (Duggan was replaced on the mound with Cameron Gross after that), a bunt single by Trenton Burgreen, and no outs seemed to set the Pioneers up for a big multi-run rally that would seal the victory.

Wood (2-3, 0-1), however, refused to back down, and got Gavin West and Burgreen out on a brilliantly executed double play that also prevented Ryan Hartigan from scoring from second.

When Josh Sherman grounded out to second, the Colonels were able to escape the inning with just a one-run deficit.

Millbrook countered Wood’s determined effort to stay in the game with a superb pitching performance by Trey Braithwaite, who relieved starter Colin Benner to begin the fifth. The Pioneer junior also got a lot of help from the Pioneer defense.

Braithwaite got the next six Colonel batters out in order to preserve the win. He pitched three innings and allowed no runs and no hits while striking out two without a walk to take the win.

“This is a much improved James Wood team,” Millbrook coach Brian Burke said. “Duggan came out and did a great job for them on the mound. Colin and Trey did a good job for us as well. Although it doesn’t show on the scoreboard, we hit the ball hard tonight. All and all it was a great effort by both teams.”

Benner gave up one run on two hits through four innings on the mound as the Millbrook starter. He struck out five while walking only two Wood batters.

“I had a really good defense behind me tonight,” Benner said. “I knew that all I had to do was make good pitches and depend on the defense behind me.”

Millbrook’s defense played errorless baseball behind Benner and Braithwaite, and that was highlighted by two stunning plays by the Pioneer third baseman Burgreen. Twice in the fifth inning Colonel batters launched blistering line drives straight at Burgreen, who snagged both of them to deny extra bases.

“Trenton has just done an outstanding job over the last two years for us at third base,” Burke said. “Those two snags he made over there proved pretty large for us.”

The Pioneers, however, weren’t the only team on the field that played brilliantly. Wood’s defense also played errorless baseball throughout the game, and all three Colonel pitchers turned back potential rallies that could have left Wood far behind.

Duggan, scattered six hits and two runs through five innings, and allowed just one walk. Gross gave up just one hit, Burgreen’s bunt single in the sixth, while facing three Pioneer batters. Kris Malsch got Millbrook out in order in the seventh inning.

Wood’s only run of the game came in the third. Hunter Hall led off the inning with a walk, then advanced to second on a passed ball. Brady Hepner got Hall to third with a sacrifice bunt, and Duggan scored Hall on a sacrifice fly to left.

Millbrook tied the game in the fifth on an RBI double by Bruce Keenan.

“This was disappointing, but Millbrook has a great team,” Wood coach Brent Lockhart said. “They were able to put more base runners on than we did. We did an excellent job on defense and our pitchers gave us an excellent chance to win the game. We just didn’t put enough people on base and score enough runs.”