Hopewell Pony League Dominates New Brighton, 14-2

New Brighton- The Hopewell Pony League team was on the road tonight to take on the New Brighton Lions.

The Vikings were hoping to raise their record over .500 but on paper, it looked to be difficult considering New Brighton entered the game with a record of 5-1.

Both teams were throwing their aces and fortunately for Coach Yurcina, he has James Armstrong on his side.

The heat throwing left-hander completely overpowered New Brighton, as Hopewell wins 14-2 (5 innings).

Armstrong pitched a complete game, allowing only 2 hits and striking out 12 of the 15 batters he faced. A big key tonight for Armstrong was despite striking out so many batters, he was very efficient with his pitches thrown.

Hopewell got on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. With 2 outs, Armstrong singled and advanced to third on a wild pickoff attempt. Next up, Camden Hoth laced a single back through the box to score Armstrong. Hopewell led 1-0.

Nothing doing for New Brighton in their first at-bats as Boo struck out two of the three batters.

In the top of the second, Hopewell was patient at the plate and took advantage of New Brighton’s wildness.

Jackson Yurcina and Andrew Arzberger led off the inning with back-back walks. Next up, Ryan Gaguzis reached on a New Brighton error. With the bases loaded, Yurcina scored on a wild pitch.

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After that, Owen Ackerman followed with a 2-run single to give Hopewell a 4-0 lead. Hopewell added one more run when Jaxsen Covalt reached on an error, which allowed Ackerman to score.

In the bottom of the second, New Brighton got a runner to third with one out. The manager called for a squeeze play but Armstrong fielded the bunt and flipped to Luke Vukovcan, who put the tag on the runner.

Hopewell added to their lead in the 3rd inning as Armstrong hit a bomb to straight away center field for his first home run of the season. Hopewell led 6-0.

After Armstrong struck out the side in New Brighton’s 3rd inning, Hopewell added two more runs in the 4th inning. A Gaguzis RBI groundout scored Yurcina, who led off the inning with a walk. Arzberger then scored on a double steal with Ackerman. Hopewell now led 8-0.

Hopewell ended the game in the 5th inning, scoring 6 more runs. Lindsey led off with a double to right field. Then with the bases loaded, Hoth was hit by a pitch to score Lindsey. Next up, Vukovcan drew a walk, which scored Collin Davis. Yurcina then drew his third walk of the game to score Armstrong. That was followed by a Arzberger walk to score Hoth. Hopewell scored two more on another New Brighton error.

Hopewell led 14-2 so New Brighton needed to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 5th to extend the game but that didn’t happen as Armstrong struck out the side.

Hopewell improves their record to 2-1-1 and return to the field on Tuesday as they host Central Valley.