The No.

Friday, May 05, 2000

The No.1 ranked Wheelersburg Pirates had ace lefthander Josh Newman on the mound, so things looked pretty hopeless for the Panthers who had only six wins.

But someone forgot to tell Chesapeake how overmatched it was as Wheelersburg scratched out a run in the sixth inning to take a 4-3 win Thursday in the Division III sectional tournament.

Newman pitched a five-hitter, struck out 12, and walked three. He also started a two-run rally that tied the game.

"Newman is the real deal. He’s tough," Panthers coach Joe Waugh said. "He gives them a considerable edge when he’s on the hill.

"But I’m proud of the way we played. Our kids weren’t intimidated. (Wheelersburg) knew we were there. The game could have gone either way."

The winning run scored in the bottom of the sixth.

Adam Conn singled, moved up on a passed ball, and scored when Jeremy Williams fly ball was misplayed for an error.

"We gave them the last one. We just couldn’t get it done at crunch time when we needed it," Waugh said.

Wheelersburg scored first with a run in the second.

Dan Sutton singled, went to second when Conn was safe on an error, Dustin Woodrum singled to load the bases, and Williams’ base hit scored the run.

Chesapeake came back to tie the game in the third.

Greg Lambert singled, went to second on a balk, took third on Ernest Bonecutter’s fly ball, and came home on a passed ball.

The Pirates answered by taking 3-1 lead in the bottom of the inning with a one-out rally.

Newman and Michael Branon singled, both moved up on a passed ball, and scored on Sutton’s double.

Chesapeake tied the game up in the fourth.

Andy Clark singled, Zeb Best walked, and Noah Phillips singled to load the bases. Tony Bell and Lambert then walked to force home two runs.

Clark turned in a strong pitching effort for the Panthers. He allowed nine hits, struck out three, and walked one.

Chesapeake, 6-11, plays at Rock Hill Friday.

Chesapeake 001 200 0 – 3 5 3

Wheelersburg 012 001 x – 4 9 1

Andy Clark and Greg Lambert. Josh Newman and Lance Davis. W-Newman (12-K, 3-W). L-Clark (3-K, 1-W). 2B-Wh: Dan Sutton. Hitting-Chesapeake: Joey Macri 1-3, Andy Clark 1-3, Noah Phillips 1-3, Greg Lambert 1-2, Todd Oberly 1-1; Wheelersburg: Josh Newman 2-3, Dan Sutton 2-3, Michael Branon 1-3, Seth Morrison 1-3, Adam Conn 1-3, Dustin Woodrum 1-3, Jeremy Williams 1-3.