Severna Park High School senior shortstop Cory Jensen smacked two home runs in the Falcons' 13-4 win over Glen Burnie on Tuesday.
Glen Burnie High School's Stan Williams balsted a double off the wall to preserve the Gophers' surge in the first but Glen Burnie was held scoreless after the first frame.
It was just one of those days for
Severna Park High School senior Cory Jensen.
The shortstop was flawless in the field and unstoppable at the plate. He went a perfect 5-for-5 with two home runs and drove in seven runs to lead the Falcons to a 13-4 victory over
Glen Burnie in an Anne Arundel County baseball game Tuesday.
"That might have been my best game ever," said Jensen, who clubbed a two-run shot in the game's second at-bat and blasted a three-run homer over the tall fence in right field to put the Falcons (4-2 overall, 3-1 in the county) ahead for good in the fourth inning.
"I guess I was just seeing the ball really well today. But none of that would have happened if people don't get on base in front of me so it was a real team effort."
Eight of the nine batters in Severna Park's starting lineup reached base at least once. The team notched six extra-base hits and scored 12 earned runs.
"Cory is going to have a big year," Falcons' coach Jim McCandless said. "I consider him one of the top shortstops in the state. He's also turned into a great hitter with a lot of hard work."
The game was originally scheduled to be played at Glen Burnie but was moved to Severna Park because of soggy field conditions. The Gophers (3-4, 1-2) made themselves right at home with four first-inning runs. All the damage was done with two outs. JJ Watson drove in two runs when he took his first pitch from Taylor Williams to the wall in right center, Angelo Archie (3-for-4) hit an RBI-single to right and Watson scored off an error.
The Falcons, who trailed 4-2 after the first, did not get frazzled. Senior Ryan Joy took the mound to relieve Williams in the fourth, the Glen Burnie bats went silent and Severna Park's defense took over.
"We had one good inning where we put some hits together so overall, it's pretty disappointing," said Glen Burnie coach Bruce Sider, whose team did not advance a runner to third base after the opening frame. "I think we hit up until Joy came in. He did a nice job -- came in and shut us down."
Joy, who started the game as the team's designated hitter, worked four scoreless innings, finished with three strikeouts and two walks to pick up the win. It was the senior's first outing of the season.
Aside from the first, Williams also had a solid outing. He got out of a first-and-second, one-out jam in the second when sophomore catcher Alex Ramsay picked off a Glen Burnie runner at second base. On the very next pitch, Williams forced Steve Smoot to ground out and get out of the inning.
Ramsay also swung the bat for the Falcons.
After Jensen's three-run blast in the fourth, Ramsay took his first delivery from Gopher pitcher Lloyd Elgent over the fence in left center to open a 6-4 lead for Severna Park. It was the second time this year Jensen and Ramsay connected for back-to-back home runs.
"This game was a huge boost and was by far our best offensive performance," said Ramsay, who had two hits and two RBIs. "Until now, I don't think our team believed we could put something like this together. This performance showed that we have the talent, the ability to make it all the way to states."
After Glen Burnie retired two of the Falcons' first three batters in the fifth, Severna Park clubbed five straight hits capped by a two RBI-single to left from Chris Bonomi. Bonomi, the Falcons' leadoff hitter, reached base four times and finished with two hits.
Dave Turner, who just returned from a broken wrist, and Jason Basara added a double and single each while Mike Boushell walked three times for the Falcons.
Stan Williams hit a double for the Gophers as did Smoot.
Severna Park (4-2) 200 451 2 -- 13 15 1
Glen Burnie (3-4) 400 000 0 -- 4 7 5
WP: Joy (1-0). LP: Elgent. 2B: SP - Bonomi, Basara, Turner; GB - Smoot, Williams, Watson. HR: SP - Jensen 2, Ramsay. RBI: SP - Jensen 7, Bonomi 2, Ramsay, Joy, Ware; GB - Watson 2, Archie.