Wilson drops Page

By Dana Jones Correspondent
Published: May 14, 2008

FISHERSVILLE – Wilson Memorial’s rally in the fifth inning secured a 5-4 win over Page County on Wednesday.
The Hornet’s Alex Fisher commanded both the mound and the batter’s box in the first, throwing nothing but strikes on defense and batting in an early RBI on offense to start the game. Page’s poor hitting kept them out of the game for the first three innings.
In the bottom of the third that got Wilson going when Bryce McClamroch stepped up to the plate to leadoff. With two strikes against him, McClamroch clenched the bat, dug in his cleats and sent one over the right-centerfield fence. With the score at 2-0, things were looking good for the Hornets.
“Bryce’s home run really gave us a boost,” Wilson coach Derek McDaniel said.
Things were looking good until the Panthers came to bat in the fourth. The start of Wilson’s nightmare started when Fisher hit Page’s leadoff batter Gene Meredith. The Panthers’ Tyler Parsell then stepped up and, after Meredith stole second, smacked a grounder up the middle allowing Meredith to score. Page’s C.J. Secrist then followed with a hit to right field, sending Parsell home.
“We got a couple of people up and were able to bunt and move them around,” said Page coach Jimmy Burke “We didn’t have a lot of base runners to do a whole lot with.”
An out and a walk and it was Page’s Luke Meadows’ turn to hit one in, kind of. On the first pitch Meadows laid down a sacrifice bunt and ran in Secrist. The Panthers rallied to a 3-2 lead and sent the Hornets whimpering into the dugout.
“We lost our composure,” said McDaniel. “Page was aggressive, but we regrouped with that last out.”
The bottom of the fourth didn’t play out much better for the Hornets, whose two runners were left stranded on base. The top of the fifth was in Page’s favor as well when they scored a quick run. With the score at 4-2, the Hornets were ready for a comeback.
A leadoff single from McClamroch put Roberto Pugliese in the box. After striking out in the first and then flying out in the third, Pugliese was due for a hit and he delivered with an RBI rip to center.
The Hornets’ Fisher was then walked and after a Jake Wood strikeout, DJ Curry landed one in left field allowing Pugliese to score and tying the game. Two more strikeouts and the Panthers were back at the plate.
“Roberto and Bryce are our main stays as far as leadership,” McDaniel said.
The top of the sixth saw a pitching change for Wilson when they put Wood in for Fisher, who allowed no hits and one walk. The Hornets came out with their bats ready to end the tie. Weston Cash led off with a walk and after a Ryan Cale strikeout McClamroch moved Cash to third with his single to right. Pugliese again delivered and broke the tie with his hard hit to short, sending Cash home.
Wilson called in DJ Curry to finish off the Panthers. Nine pitches, three strikeouts, and the game was over.
Page County (7-11-1, 3-6) heads to Riverheads on Friday for the first round of tournament play while Wilson Memorial (10-9, 5-5) hosts Stonewall Jackson the same night.