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Eagles dominate Monrovia in sectional opener
CLAYTON -- South Putnam blasted into the Cascade Sectional 44 and trounced the Monrovia Bulldogs, 13-0 and advanced to face county rival Cloverdale on Thursday.
"The freshmen aren't freshmen anymore," coach Harold Campbell pronounced after Monday's win. "Everything is clicking and starting to fall into place."
The Eagles jumped all over the Bulldogs from the get go and kept the pressure on. South went through its lineup in the first and scored five runs on five hits. Designated hitter Noah Boswell hit a shot to deep left field to score two of those runs.
"We felt Monrovia was a good matchup for us," Campbell said. "We lost one to them earlier in the season, that we felt like we absolutely just gave away and we didn't want to see that happen today."
The Eagles continued strong in the second as they scored one run on two hits with starting pitcher Adam Nees and Brad Eickhoff hitting back-to-back doubles to start the inning.
After a scoreless inning, the Eagles exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning and put the game out of reach. Boswell connected on another shot for two RBI, while Adam Hammond connected on a double and scored a run.
Nees took control on the mound and shut the Bulldogs down inning after inning, allowing only one hit. Nees threw a complete game with four strikeouts and no walks.
"We put our ace on the mound. He's a senior and he knows it's one-and-done at this point," Campbell said. "He threw a heck of a game."
One thing the Eagles have fought with all season is their youth and overcoming little bumps that could quickly turn into big obstacles. Campbell felt Monday his team took a big step in the right direction.
"They now expect to win. They've got the confidence now to go out and execute, make the routine plays, go up to the plate and put the ball in play," Campbell commented. "They know they can win."
Collecting big hits for the Eagles were Nees, Adam Hammond, Eickhoff and Brice Steinbaker with doubles and Jon Davidson with a triple.
With the win, South will face off against the Clovers, a team the Eagles have beaten two out of three times this season, but Campbell knows Cloverdale will bring it as soon as the first pitch is thrown.
"We know they're going to come ready to attack and play hard. We just to to go out and execute," he said.
The Eagles will face Clovedale Thursday at 5 p.m. at Cascade.
At Cascade
Monrovia 000 00 -- 0 1 4
South Putnam 510 7x -- 13 12 1
Steward/ Speck (3) and Dillon (M); Nees and Dean (SP)
2B -- Nees, Hammond, Eickhoff, Steinbaker.
3B -- Davidson
Next game -- The Eagles will face Clovedale Thursday at 5 p.m. at Cascade.