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Rose shutout gives Cougars chance to win with their three hits

By Staff | Apr 6, 2018

It’s a year of freshmen and first-year starters trying to make their marks at Jefferson High.

In a 5-0 win over visiting Berkeley Springs last Saturday on a baseball-perfect day, the Cougars didn’t do much hitting, but they did plenty of walking, base stealing, moving around the bases on wild pitches and using the six innings of shutout pitching by freshman left-hander Zac Rose.

Berkeley Springs made mistakes. Jefferson jumped on enough of them to score five times with its 15 base runners.

Three hits. Fifteen base runners. And a six-inning, four-hitter from Rose, who helped himself considerably by starting two rally-killing double plays.

When the Indians loaded the bases with no outs in the second, Rose grabbed a one-hopper back to him and started a quick double play by throwing to catcher Dylan McCartney, who completed the twin-killing with his throw to first.

In the third, there were Indians perched on first and second with no outs when Rose slickly fielded a grounder, threw to third for a force and saw fellow freshman Cullen Horowicz throw on to first to get another double play.

The Indians couldn’t score as Rose went six innings, allowing four singles and fanning three before giving way to James Walsh, who retired the three batters he saw. Jefferson managed a 3-0 lead after three innings by scraping out runs with an assortment of walks, stolen bases, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch.

The Indians’ chances were almost dashed when more walks, two wild pitches and Cory Roman’s single were wrapped into two runs. Roman had two of Jefferson’s three singles and was on base three times. Cory Daly, Hayden Stang, Horowicz and Taylor Tennant all got on base twice, but the Cougars stranded nine base-runners in their six turns.

The morning was filled with sunshine, a rarity this season, and Rose muffled the Indian offense with his fielding as well as his pitching.