D.L. Hall pitches Houston County's baseball team to series win
Houston County’s deep pitching staff still had an ace in the hole to start Thursday’s decisive game three against Cambridge in the second round of the GHSA class AAAAA playoffs.
That card was D.L. Hall, and the athletic left-hander came up big as he dealt a complete game, two-hit shutout to pitch the Bears into the quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory.
Hall gave up an opposite-field single to the first batter he faced, but didn’t surrender another hit until two were out in the seventh, setting down nine straight Cambridge hitters at one point. The visitors brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the final inning after that single and a hit batsmen, but Hall blew a fastball past Jacob Cabe to end the game and start the celebration.
He struck out 10 men in the contest as Houston County’s defense played errorless ball behind him.
Game one starting pitcher Tony Locey provided all of the offense the Bears would need in the second inning of the nightcap. Cambridge pitcher Jonathan Hirschland tried to come inside one too many times and the big designated hitter picked on a fastball, riding it well over the center field fence for a two-run shot that scored Austin Hittinger.
Houston County’s pitching staff held the Cambridge bats scoreless in 17 of the 20 innings played in the series. It struck out 26 and gave up just seven hits combined in the three games.
THREE WHO MATTERED
Hall: Showing his competitiveness, the Florida State commitment snapped off his sharpest curveball of the night to end the sixth inning after a lengthy delay caused by an irate Cambridge bench. He was terrific in the middle innings coaxing quick ground ball outs and extending his outing.
Locey: The vocal leader delivered the big shot Houston County needed to advance. He finished the series with four hits in his final five at-bats, including two extra-base hits and three RBI.
Hirschland: The Cambridge starter worked all six innings and kept the visitors in the game. He finished with eight strikeouts of his own and held Houston County to just four hits.
OBSERVATIONS
Houston County played its brand of baseball: This Bears team is completely different from the one that took home the 2014 GHSA Class AAAAA state championship, in that the Bears are going to get it done with pitching and defense, as opposed to slugging and home runs. If the Bears play error-free baseball behind their three standouts on the mound like they did on Thursday and execute a small-ball offensive philosophy to score a run here and there, then they’re going to be hard out for anyone.
Stepping Up: Tucker Garland sat out the first game of the series and the start of the second, but the senior came up big defensively at shortstop once his number was called. He made several nice plays on groundballs and tracked down a huge second out in the sixth on a popup that he ranged well down the third baseline to haul in.
THEY SAID IT
Houston County head coach Jason Brett on the tightly contested series: “That’s an outstanding baseball team. I told their coach when we met that looking at them on paper felt like I was looking at our team. That’s how similar we were, I thought. We were lucky enough to get the break (Thursday) and come out with the win.”
Brett on the pressure of a winner-take-all situation: “When D.L. is on, he’s just really tough to hit. There’s a reason he’s going to Florida State and people are high on him. He came out and he attacked the zone (Thursday) with a couple of pitches. When he comes out and does that throwing strikes, he’s really tough. I’m really proud of him and where he’s at right now.”
Brett on the depth of his pitching staff: “They did a great job all series. Tony did a great job in game one, Tanner (Hall) did outstanding in game two and then D.L. came out and was outstanding (Thursday). I like our chances in a three game series with those three guys running out there.”
This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 9:48 PM with the headline "D.L. Hall pitches Houston County's baseball team to series win."