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Hornets Beat Bulldogs, Royals Will Get Chance At Revenge

The division III sixth-seeded Hornets moved on to the Semifinals after beating third-seeded North Shore Tech Bulldogs 3-1 yesterday.  The Hornets (16-6) will face the tenth-seeded Georgetown Royals (16-7)  June 3 at 7 p.m. at Fraser Field-Lynn.

The Hornets pitcher Eric Diffily pitched his first tournament game with four hits, three strike outs, and three walks with no earned runs. Diffily also pitched out of a couple of key jams.

Coach Frank Carey called a mound visit after Diffily walked right fielder Shane Bennett to load the bases in the bottom of the fifth in a one run game.

“He got himself in and got himself out of jams,” said Carey. “He was jacked up and started to over throw the ball a bit. I don’t usually go out to the mound but I wanted to tell him to shorten his stride.  Sometimes pitchers get excited especially since it was his first tournament game.”

“I kept throwing high,” said Diffily. “Coach came out to calm me down.”

After the mound visit Diffily delivered three straight strikes to strike out center fielder Chris Wheeler and retire the side unscathed.

Behind Diffily’s poised pitching performance was a tight defense lead by first baseman and co-captain Kevin Singer, who also scored a run in the sixth. 

“The defense was amazing, and (Singer) is always outstanding,” said Diffily. “He’s an All-Star.”

The Hornets’ used discipline at the plate and played small ball to generate runs. They used several steals and sacrifice bunts to move the runners over enough to put themselves in scoring position.  Coach Carey said that just their forte.

“That’s how we play,” said Diffily. “Coaches game is small ball.”

Bulldogs assistant coach John Lynch agreed with the style of play from the Hornets.

“They are very well coached,” said Lynch. “Very discipline.  They usually hit the ball and play good defense.”

The Bulldogs kept the game close but couldn’t capitalize on Diffily.

“They were a good team,” said Diffily. “They had a good record.”

The lone run for the Bulldogs came from a heads up play by pitcher Ryan Mahan running home from third after shortstop David St. Pierre got caught in a pickle leaving first to second.  St. Pierre avoided the tag long enough to let Mahan score.

The Hornets now look ahead to the Royals who they lost to the Royals 6-5 during the regular season on May 9.  The Royals are coming off beating second-seeded Weston (17-4).

The Hornets and Royals are set up for a rematch of last years quarterfinal game when the Hornets edged the Royals 10-9.

Were excited,” said Diffily.  “We feel confident going into the next round.”