Waynesboro trips up JF, gets second straight berth to Group AA Tournament

By Corine Gatti

Published: May 29, 2008

AMHERST — Waynesboro was jittery when the bases were loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Freshman pitcher Drew DeMoss came out of the bullpen and eased the tension, striking out the next batter on three pitches to help the Little Giants to a 10-8 win over Jefferson Forest in the Region III semifinals Thursday.
The win also locked up the team’s second straight trip to the Group AA tourney.
“My main man —DeMoss, my ace,” Giant coach Jim Critzer said. “He came on with the bases loaded and threw three fast balls and bingo, bingo, bingo! You couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s storybook, isn’t it?”
The game did not start off as a fairy tale for the Little Giants. After taking a 1-0 lead in the first, Waynesboro gave up six runs by the top of the fourth and Jefferson Forest showed no signs of slowing down until Jeremy Hahn took the wind out of their sails.
In the bottom half of the inning, Hahn sent the first pitch he saw over the fence in center. It sparked a five-run rally that tied the game..
“I was mad at myself after we lost our lead, but after I hit that home run I felt better,” Hahn said.
Critzer said Hahn was nervous on the mound and in the box, but later turned his game around.
“He’s been struggling at the plate,” Critzer said. “He got that one hit and he was back in the grove.”
After the Giants’ rally, Cavalier pitcher Erik Heiligenstadt was roughed up for four more runs—all after two outs—in the fifth inning, including a two-run Terrell Thompson homer to center. It was the first home run of his varsity career.
“I’m just a leadoff hitter, but I was able to power that one out,” Thompson said.
Critzer said that his team has been down before on the scoreboard, but his team always claws its way back.
“We may be behind, but we are never out,” Critzer said. “I’m not going to say that we’ll never lose.”
Hahn threw 140 pitches before leaving in the sixth after giving up five straight walks—all after two outs—and donating two runs to the Cavaliers’ cause. DeMoss came in after the second run crossed the plate.
“I knew I had a good defense behind me,” Hahn said. “My team backed me up and fought for us.”
The veteran Waynesboro coach wanted to leave Hahn in the game so he could work out of the jam.
“But with two outs and bases loaded, he could not find the plate,” Critzer said.
DeMoss shut down the Cavaliers and gave Critzer even more confidence to start the freshman tonight in the Region III championship game against Alleghany.
“It feels good. I came out there to back up my team and Jeremy Hahn,” DeMoss said. “I did OK.”
Alleghany beat Turner Ashby in the other Region III semifinal game. Waynesboro and Alleghany will clash for the Region III hardware and the right to host the first round of the Group AA tournament tonight at 7 p.m. at Amherst High School.