Legacy leans on pitching, overtakes Arbor View

Fans who came out to see Friday’s baseball game between Legacy and Arbor View might have expected to see a slugfest after the teams combined for 33 runs in their first meeting.
Instead they were treated to a classic pitchers’ duel between Legacy’s Joey Lauria and Arbor View’s Zack Hartman.

The senior right-handers combined to allow 12 hits as Legacy knocked off the host Aggies, 3-0.

Legacy senior Tyler Thurston laced a sharp two-out liner to center field that scored Donald Glover and Joey Comish, to turn a 1-0 lead into the 3-0 final advantage and send the Longhorns into sole possession of first place in the Northwest League.

“Hartman was throwing really good and we had to make some adjustments to start putting the ball in play,” Legacy coach Bill Dexheimer said. “They made a couple of mistakes and we got a key hit to take advantage of them. They are a good baseball team and this was definitely a big win.”

Legacy’s three-run fifth inning began after Andres Ortiz was hit by a pitch and Glover’s routine grounder to second resulted in a throwing error. Lauria followed with another routine grounder to shortstop that was mishandled to take a 1-0 lead and set the table for Thurston’s clutch two-run single.

“I noticed Hartman had been throwing me straight fastballs all day,” Thurston said. “It was the only pitch I was looking for. It was middle-high and my eyes got big and I was able to drive it.”

Legacy (15-8, 10-1) managed to load the bases in the first inning with no outs, but Hartman got an out at the plate off a come-backer, then got a fly out and a strikeout to escape without allowing a run.

Hartman ended another threat in the second inning with a strikeout after the Longhorns got consecutive two-out hits.

Lauria allowed six hits and no walks with nine strikeouts, as he consistently got ahead in the count and avoided damage with the aid of a pick-off, an outfield assist from Ortiz and a double play.

“He didn’t have his great stuff the first time we faced Arbor View.” Dexheimer said. “He definitely showed today that when he has his better stuff, he can play with anybody in town. Today we played solid defense. We made some great plays to help Joey out and that’s the key to winning baseball games.”

The Longhorns lost 20-13 when the teams met on March 25, as they surrendered eight runs to the Aggies in the seventh inning to relinquish a 13-12 lead.

“With first place on the line, I knew that I had to come out to compete and hit my spots,” Lauria said. “I made sure I busted them in a lot and located down to get some ground balls and let my defense make some plays for me.”

Glover and Pierce Skinner each finished with two hits for the Longhorns.

Pedro Gonzales went 2-for-2 for Arbor View (16-8, 9-2).