Old Mill High School outfielder Hector Hidalgo hit an RBI-single and clubbed a double to pace the Patriots offense in a 4-0 win over Chesapeake on Monday.
Old Mill High School pitcher Brady Feigl did not let a runner advance to third until the seventh inning. He finished with 15 strikeouts.
by Aaron Grayagray@digitalsports.com(Video highlights below)Old Mill High School senior Brady Feigl said it was his best performance of the season.
The
Chesapeake baseball team would have to agree.
The left-hander struck out 15 of the 27 batters he faced to lead the Patriots to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Cougars in an Anne Arundel County baseball game Monday.
Old Mill has won five in a row and improved to 8-3; Chesapeake fell to 5-3.
"Just threw fastballs a lot and I felt good," said Feigl, who gave up only two hits in the game to pick up his third win. "It was the best I've felt all year. I kept my weight back and went through the motion. I just felt good."
Patriots coach Mel Montgomery said it would be important for his team to establish itself early. After rallying back for four separate victories last week, Old Mill wanted to come out strong and build a lead. Feigl struck out the side in the first and the Patriots' offense slowly chipped away at Cougars' starter Jeremy VerHoef.
"I think Chesapeake went a little down after that first inning," said Montgomery, whose team plated a run in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
"Brady established himself on the mound while we scratched and dug for some runs. After that, we felt pretty confident. Brady is the kind of pitcher that gets stronger as he goes along."
Feigl got ahead of hitters with his dominating fastball and worked in a curve and changeup. Several batters looked at a called-third strike while others bit on the changeup.
"We couldn't hit the guy -- he was unhittable," said Chesapeake coach Jim Simms, whose first three batters in the lineup went a combined 1-for-8 with six strikeouts. "We tried everything: the bunt, slash ... We tried everything we know."
When asked if Feigl was the best pitcher his team has faced this season, Simms said, "We've seen some good ones but he's right up there."
While Feigl was stellar from the mound, shortstop Kevin Kean and outfielder Hector Hidalgo were consistent at the plate for the Patriots. With runners on the corners, Hidalgo came up with an RBI-single in the second to score Old Mill's first run.
Hidalgo (2-for-2 with a walk) hit a two-out double up the middle in the fourth and would later score off a blooper to right from Matt Sharrock.
"We all just try to chip in together," said Hildalgo, who scored twice. "Kevin had three hits and knocked me in twice. We all just try to be clutch."
Chesapeake catcher Justin Cohen was tested often as the Patriots were aggressive on the base paths. Old Mill was also able to execute several "run-and-hit" plays, which put runners in scoring position.
"We have a lot of speed," said Kean, who went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. "We just kept hitting ... and with Brady on the mound? He shut them down. They couldn't catch up with his fastball."
Sharrock's RBI in the fourth opened a 2-0 lead. The next inning, Kean led off the inning with an infield single and would later score from third after an errant pickoff move to first.
In the sixth, Hidalgo started the frame off with a walk and Kean batted him in with an RBI-single to left. During the inning, both Kean and Hildalgo stole second base.
"Up and down the lineup, I think we got some great hits from people," Montgomery said.
"Our batters don't swing to protect people, they swing to hit the ball. We are aggressive and we do steal bases. It's pretty exciting to have these guys."
Sophomore Mike Marsh beat out a throw to first in the fourth to break up Feigl's no-hitter. He would later get caught in a rundown and Feigl fanned the next two batters to get out of the inning.
Chesapeake did not advance a runner to third until the seventh after Kyle Gatz walked on four pitches to start the inning. Two batters later, Dylen Porter laced a single to right field and both runners would later advance on a passed ball.
VerHoef went the distance for the Cougars and yielded nine hits while striking out eight.
Chesapeake (5-3) 000 000 0 - 0 2 0
Old Mill (8-3) 010 111 X - 4 9 1
WP: OM - Feigl. LP: CH - VerHoef. 2B: OM - Hildalgo. RBI: OM - Sharrock, Hildalgo, Kean.