Baltimore finishes off New Orleans

By SAMUEL LEGG
The Tribune-Democrat

August 14, 2008 12:32 am

— Baltimore pitcher Kevin Brady struck out 14 batters, reserve Tyler Hibbs collected two hits and Youse’s Maryland Orioles shut out New Orleans 4-0 on Wednesday at the Greater Johnstown Middle School field, eliminating the Louisiana club from the 64th AAABA Tournament.
Brady, a right-hander who is scheduled to be a freshman this coming semester at Clemson University, allowed five hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings.
“Brady’s been really good for us all year,” Baltimore manager Dean Albany said. “He’s 17 years old, but he’s pretty good. He’s a horse out there.”
Brady, who was drafted out of high school by the Boston Red Sox, kept New Orleans batters under control using three convincing pitches.
“This is the first day in a while I had all three pitches working,” said Brady, who recorded three strikeouts in the fourth inning and again in the sixth. “I think I threw more change-ups (Wednesday) than I have the whole season. It was just great to have my curveball, fastball and change-up working.”
After New Orleans (1-2) squandered a golden opportunity in the top of the first to get a run or two, Baltimore got the only run it needed in the home half.
Back-to-back singles by Gerald Hall and Reed Gragnani off New Orleans right-hander Andrew Velez got things going. Mike Celenza’s fly out to left was just deep enough for Hall to beat a Cass Hargis throw to home.
The Orioles (2-1) scored three more times their next at-bat.
Hibbs, who is listed as a pitcher on the tournament roster and was filling in for an injured teammate, doubled down the left-field line to start the inning. Hibbs moved to third on an error and scored on a Hall infield single. With two outs, Celenza hit a hard grounder that was fielded by shortstop Mike Liberto deep in the hole. Nick Natoli and Hall, who were moving on the pitch, scored when Liberto didn’t have a play at home or first base.
“Tyler Hibbs isn’t even a position guy,” Albany said. “Our center fielder broke his finger the other day, so Hibbs is replacing him. Hibbs is a guy who is mainly a pitcher on our team, who really doesn’t get to bat too much. But he came through with two hits for us.”
New Orleans stranded 10 and had runners on second and third with less than two outs on two different occasions, in the first and sixth. The Louisiana club also had runners in scoring position in the seventh against Baltimore reliever Matt Hiserman but failed to push a run across.
“It’s hard to win when you don’t score,” New Orleans manager Brady Benoit said. “That’s two losses and two shutouts. We had a few opportunities with guys on base, we just couldn’t get it done. If you don’t take advantage of opportunities like that, you’re going home.”