Keaton slams two home runs as Hornets top Redmen in OVC
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, May 8, 2001
COAL GROVE – A couple of old videos helped give Jarrod Keaton a highlight film.
Tuesday, May 08, 2001
COAL GROVE – A couple of old videos helped give Jarrod Keaton a highlight film.
Unhappy with the way he was swinging the bat, Keaton took a look of some old footage to try and correct his mistakes. Keaton did just that as he hit two home runs to lead the Coal Grove Hornets past the Rock Hill Redmen 7-4 Monday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.
"Jarrod said he was watching some videos of what he was doing and he was holding his bat down instead of back, and tonight he went back to the things he did last year. He did pretty good," Hornets coach John Jones said.
Keaton also came on to get a save as he struck out three batters in the seventh. Tommy Pemberton went the first six innings to get the win. He struck out four and walked one.
"Pemberton threw pretty good. He’s just a freshman, but he showed some mental toughness," said Jones.
Coal Grove jumped ahead 2-0 with two outs in the first with a pair of unearned runs.
Tyler Waller reached on an error and Keaton hit his first home run.
Rock Hill came back in the second to get a run when Dave Malone and Kyle Lewis singled to put runners on the corners, and a wild pitch sent Malone home.
Both teams scored in the third.
In the top of the inning, Jeff Crabtree singled, stole second, and rode home on Malone’s base hit.
But Coal Grove erupted for five runs in the bottom of the inning.
Eric Tackett started the uprising with a base hit. Ryan Brown and Pemberton singled for the first run and Waller singled in another. Keaton then hit a long 3-run homer to right-center.
"Jarrod really put a charge in that one," said Jones.
The Redmen were going to go quietly as they scored twice in the fifth.
Nathan Litteral doubled with one out and Crabtree homered to get Rock hill within 7-4. But Keaton came on in the seventh and struck out three of the four batters he faced to preserve the win.
Keaton and Andy Dean each went 2-for-3 and Brown 2-for-4 to lead the Hornets 10-hit attack.
Dave Malone and Lewis were both 2-for-3 while Crabtree was 2-for-4 to pace Rock Hill.
Coal Grove, 15-10 and 6-5 in the OVC, hosts South Point at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the season finale.
Rock Hill 011 020 0 – 4 7 2
Coal Grove 205 000 x – 7 10 3
Derek Malone, Shawn Primm (4) and David Martin. Tommy Pemberton, Jarrod Keaton (7) and Josh Wheeler. W-Pemberton (4-W, 1-L). L-Malone (2-K, 0-W). Save-Keaton (3-K, 0-W). 2B-Rock Hill: Nathan Litteral, Kyle Lewis. HR-Rock Hill: Jeff Crabtree; Coal Grove: Jarrod Keaton 2. Hitting-Rock Hill: Nathan Litteral 1-4, Jeff Crabtree 2-4, Dave Malone 2-3, Kyle Lewis 2-3: Coal Grove: Ryan Brown 2-4, Tommy Pemberton 1-3, Tyler Waller 1-3, Jarrod Keaton 2-3, Josh Wheeler 1-3, Andy Dean 2-3, Eric Tackett 1-3.