No. 3 Fort Hill beats No. 5 Southern, 5-2, behind Brauer's complete game
CUMBERLAND — After waging a series of comebacks during the first week of the season, Fort Hill took a more comfortable route Monday. Third-ranked Fort Hill scored five runs across the first two innings, and Bobby Brauer tossed a complete-game gem to lead the Sentinels to a 5-2 victory over No. 5 Southern at Allegany College's Steve Bazarnic Field.
"We did not go into this game expecting Bobby to go the distance," Fort Hill manager Tanner Brode said. "Definitely pleased with his performance on the mound. Enjoy the guys getting the ball in play.
We've been preaching that for a while. A lot of guys are just trying to do too much with the plate. " The victory kept Fort Hill (3-0-1) perfect in Western Maryland Athletic Conference play with a 3-0 mark.
Southern fell to 3-2 (1-2 WestMAC). Six or Brauer's seven innings were scoreless, and the lone blemish in the fifth inning turned out to be his most important frame. Southern, trailing 5-0 before the inning, loaded the bases with nobody out and with a run already in after an error on a ground ball.
Brauer got a key first out via a strikeout to Southern's No. 3 hitter, and a Ryan Bird sacrifice fly one batter later was the only other damage in what could have been a big inning. The right-hander put up two scoreless innings after to finish off the victory in 107 pitches.