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Mount's Hayward dominates Hope |
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Monday, 21 April 2008 |
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By MICHAEL PARENTE Sports writer PROVIDENCE – Vaughn Hayward is no longer Mount Saint Charles’ ace-in-training. Just four starts into the season, the junior right-hander has already distinguished himself as the team’s most reliable pitcher.
Hayward continued his rapid development Monday, pitching six innings of one-hit ball with 14 strikeouts in the Mounties’ 12-0 victory over Hope High.
Working ahead in the count throughout the afternoon, Hayward struck out the first six batters he faced and eight of the first 10. He didn’t allow a hit until the bottom of the fourth when Luis Jiminez led off the inning with a ground ball through the middle that struck Hayward in the back.
The stoic righty shook off Jiminez’s comebacker and didn’t allow another baserunner for the rest of the game, finishing off Monday’s masterpiece by striking out five of Hope’s final six batters. Mount is now 8-2 overall and 7-2 in Division II North.
“Vaughn is definitely our ace. There’s no question about it,” Mount head coach Tom Seaver said. “When he’s on, he’s untouchable.”
Upgraded to the top of the rotation this season following the loss of former ace Brendan Worton, Hayward is now 3-0 after handcuffing the Blue Wave (2-7) on Monday afternoon. The key to his success was working ahead in the count, which allowed him to use his entire repertoire. He even pitched backwards at times, setting the tone with his curveball and then blowing away hitters with the high heat.
“I do that up in the count against the top of the order. If I get 0-2 on them, I usually go high on them,” Hayward said. “With the bottom of the order, you really don’t worry about it – you just try to get them out of there.
“(Throwing strikes) makes a big difference, because you can choose from all your pitches. I’m throwing the curveball really well now, and I’m throwing it whenever I want to get ahead in the count. I try not to work from behind.”
Only four batters put the ball in play against Hayward, and none of them managed to get it out of the infield. Hayward induced two pop-ups to third base and also got an out when Steven Lugo tried to bunt for a single in the bottom of the third.
“He kept us off balance all day,” Hope head coach Richard Parillo said. “He threw strikes. He was always ahead in the count. He just overpowered us. He was tough today.”
Mount’s offense finally broke through against starter Ambirois Parra in the top of the third when Hayward drove in the game’s first run on a shallow flare to right field with two outs. An RBI single by Leo Levesque and a sacrifice fly by Brendan Combes gave the Mounties a 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth.
The game got out of hand in the fifth as Parra began to lose control of the strike zone. Stephen Gomes, Kameron Luther, Josh Pangborn and Combes drove in runs and Pangborn later scored on a wild pitch to cap a five-run outburst for Mount.
Hope continued to unravel in the final two innings as relievers Jose Paulino and MacKenzie Gonzalez combined to allow four runs on five hits and six walks.
The long layoff between innings did little to affect Hayward’s command. He breezed through the bottom of the fifth, striking out the side on just 15 pitches, and also worked a perfect sixth, ending his afternoon by striking out Gonzalez on a fastball at the letters.
“He knows what to do,” Seaver said. “If they’re going to keep swinging at the high ones, then you go a little higher.
“Vaughn was aggressive, he went after the batters today, and he was ahead in the count. His fastball was fantastic and he mixed the curves up just enough to keep the batters off balance. He did a great job. Each time, we’re trying to get his pitch count up, and as the weather gets warmer, he’s going longer.”
Mount second baseman John Guay when 1-for-2 and scored four runs, and Luther added two hits and an RBI. Pangborn went 1-for-2 with an RBI double and also scored twice. Hayward’s younger brother, Garrett, worked the bottom of the seventh and allowed only one hit with a pair of strikeouts. The Mounties, who trail first-place Scituate (6-1) by half a game in the standings, will play at Davies on Wednesday afternoon.
“This boosted our confidence today,” Hayward said. “We got a good win under our belts going into the rest of the week.”
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Mount Saint Charles 001 252 2–12 11 0
Hope 000 000 0–0 1 5
Vaughn Hayward, Garrett Hayward (7) and Josh Pangborn. Ambirois Parra, Jose Paulino (5), MacKenzie Gonzalez (6) and Miguel Castillo. 2B – John Guay, Josh Pangborn.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 25 April 2008 )
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