GAME 13: Royals claim sovereignty over Firestorm
Pitcher Justin Drury keeps his thumb on Arizona Christian batting order, leads Hope International to its third straight elimination victory
Junior right-hander Justin Drury pitched eight innings and picked up his 10th win of the season against no defeats as he helped Hope International rout Arizona Christian 8-1 in Avista NAIA World Series elimination play on Tuesday at Harris Field.
This was the third straight victory for the fourth-seeded Royals (43-16) since they dropped their Series opener to Reinhardt, and their second straight near-shutout after a 12-1 blitz of Indiana Southeast a day earlier. Hope International advances to the semifinals, where it will face No. 2 seed Georgia Gwinnett, while the 10th-seeded Firestorm (38-21) saw their season conclude with the defeat.
Firestorm contained
“Drury did an outstanding job on the mound,” Hope International coach Larry Mahoney said. “Our guys came out with a lot of energy. We showed up here expecting to win, and they’re just keeping that mentality.”
Batters from both teams launched repeated fly balls into the outfield, but a steady wind current that kept the flag overhanging the adjacent LCSC Tennis Center fluttering also helped hold back any potential homers, turning the game into more of a defensive battle.
A two-RBI double from JJ Cruz in the first inning gave the Royals the only runs for either team through the first three frames.
It was only in the fourth that the contest took on the shape of a blowout after an attempted pickoff throw to third base by Arizona Christian pitcher Eli Elliott sailed disastrously wide of the mark and had to be retrieved by outfielders, allowing three Hope International runners to capitalize. Two more scoreless innings followed, raising the prospect of the Series’ first shutout (something Hope International had also flirted with in its previous outing as Indiana Southeast failed to score until the bottom of the ninth) before shortstop Matthew Beckwith notched a double in the seventh that led to the Firestorm bringing Deshon Thomas home for their lone run of the day.
Drury had to fight his way out of trouble again in the bottom of the eighth with two runners on base before he drew a fly-out, prompting Mahoney to bring in Steven Ordorica as a closer. Ordorica would need just four at-bats, ending with a throw-out of Andrew Ivy at first base.
Plenty of hat — but more than that
“I went out there and I just attacked the strike zone,” Drury said as elated teammates walking by stacked their hats atop his head in celebration of his performance. “I kept going after each and every pitch with as much intent as I can. I just let the guys behind me do all the work; I didn’t have many strikeouts in the game, but just to fill up the zone and get ground balls and fly balls was huge.”
Drury struck out three batters and walked only one through eight innings and 30 at-bats in what he called “the best outing you’re going to see out of me.” By the end of his interview with the Tribune, he sported a tower 10-baseball-caps-high, counting his own.
HOPE INT. ARIZ. CHRISTIAN
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Rivera ss 4 1 2 1 Ivy cf 5 0 0 0
Moreno 3b 4 2 2 0 Titialii lf 2 0 0 0
Cruz 2b 2 1 1 2 Tarver 1b 4 0 1 0
Arnone c 3 0 0 1 Kiaunis 3b 3 0 0 0
Jones pr 0 1 0 0 Anderson rf 4 0 0 0
Toigo lf 5 0 1 0 Garcia dh 4 0 0 0
Sims rf 4 0 0 0 Eastham c 4 0 1 0
Maciel 1b 5 1 1 0 Thomas pr 0 1 0 0
Lamastra dh 4 1 1 0 Bckworth ss 4 0 3 0
Bartee cf 4 1 1 0 Edmonds 2b 3 0 0 1
Collins ph 1 0 0 0
Totals 35 8 9 4 Totals 34 1 5 1
Hope International 200 400 020—8 9 2
Arizona Christian 000 000 100—1 5 2
Hope International ip h r er bb so
Drury (W,10-0) 8 4 1 1 1 3
Ordorica 1 1 0 0 0 0
Arizona Christian ip h r er bb so
Elliott (L,8-5) 4 6 6 3 3 5
Robertson 3.1 3 2 1 0 3
Hohensee 1.2 0 0 0 2 1
Attendance — 411.
Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.
