An early lead, a blown lead, and some late-inning heroics gave Austin a hard-fought win on the road over the host Hightower Hurricanes, and their second district victory in as many games. Some timely relief pitching by A.J. Glasshof and a go-ahead 2-run homer by 1B Drew Miller in the top of the seventh helped snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after the Hurricanes had staged a late-inning comeback of their own.

While the Bulldogs led most of the way, the storm clouds were brewing early as Austin left the bases loaded each of the first three innings with only 3 runs to show for it. What looked like a lead-off double to left in the first inning by SS Barrett Barnes turned into a single when Barnes was tagged out on a great throw and close play at second. CF Daniel Rockett followed with a walk, and moved to third on P Ryan Dalton’s double. Rockett would score on a steal when pinch runner Eric Hughes got in a run-down later in the inning. In the third, C Matt Hills got things started with a one-out walk, and that was followed by back-to-back singles by 2B Luke Mulcahey and RF Tony Gigliotti, and back-to-back RBI walks to Miller and Barnes. The Bulldogs would make it 4-0 after 4 innings on 3B Erik Schweiger’s one-out blast to left center, his team-leading 5th home run of the season.

Hightower was not about to go quietly, though. After sending one over the minimum to the plate in the first four innings against starting pitcher Ryan Dalton, the Hurricanes strung their first three hits of the game together to drive in two runs in the fifth to close the gap to 4-2. Things then changed in a hurry in the bottom of the sixth. An infield hit, a four-pitch walk, and a 3-run homer down the left field line to start the inning turned the tables on the scoreboard and put an end to an otherwise great outing by Dalton. A.J. Glasshof came on in relief to close out the inning by getting the next three batters, one of them on a tough pop-up to second caught by Dalton.

Not deterred by the setback on the scoreboard, the Bulldogs cranked it up a couple of notches in the top of the seventh. Gigliotti led off with his third hit of the night, a line single to right center. Miller was looking to bunt the tying run to second, but the first pitch high and tight got away from the catcher to move Gigliotti up 90 feet. On the next pitch, Miller got the lead back for the Bulldogs when he launched a high drive that cleared the fence and was just out of the reach of the Hightower outfielder Evan Lyday (who was hurt on the play & we hope is o.k.). The Bulldogs would add to that lead later in the inning on a series of miscues. A misplay on a Dalton pop-up and a check-swing single by LF Blake Doerr led to two more runs when Schweiger’s line single to left snuck under the fielder’s glove. With an 8-5 lead, Glasshof took care of the bottom of the seventh with a strikeout, a walk & stolen base, and a line drive double play to shortstop.

Next up for the Bulldogs are back-to-back home games against Willowridge on Thursday night and Travis on Friday night, which is also “Little League Night at the Ballpark”.

Bulldog Offensive Highlights:

· 12 hits for the Bulldogs, including 3 for extra bases: HR and two singles for 3B Erik Schweiger; three singles for RF Tony Gigliotti; HR for 1B Drew Miller; double for P Ryan Dalton; a single each for SS Barrett Barnes, LF Blake Doerr, C Matt Hills, and 2B Luke Mulcahey

· 6 RBIs on the game: 3 for Miller, 2 for Schweiger, 1 for Barnes

· 20 long balls and counting: Schweiger’s home run tied and Miller’s home run surpassed the team’s season home run total of 19 from last year.

Bulldog Pitching Highlights:

· Ryan Dalton, 5 innings, 5 K’s, 2 BB’s, 5 hits, 5 runs

· A.J. Glasshof (2-1, 1-0), 2 innings, 1 K, 1 BB, 0 hits, 0 runs

Bulldog Defensive Highlights:

· A play you don’t see everyday – a 3-4-3 groundout on a hot shot off of 1B Drew Miller’s glove that caromed to 2B Luke Mulcahey for the scoop and throw back to Miller for the second out in the third.

· Great catch on a twisting pop-up to 2B Ryan Dalton for the last out in the sixth.

· Line out to SS Barrett Barnes who steps on second for the unassisted double play to end the game.

Winning Pitcher: A.J. Glasshof (2-1, 1-0)

Losing Pitcher: J. Blalack

Extra Base Hits, FBA: HR – Schweiger, Miller; 2B - Dalton

Extra Base Hits, HTR: HR - Como

Score by inning:

Submitted by: Tom Miller