Chiefs blown away

Windy conditions favor hard-hitting Plant, which defeats Chamberlain 15-4.

By BRANDON WRIGHT
Published April 24, 2005

TAMPA - A strong wind blowing toward leftfield, like the one Saturday at Chamberlain, can be a right-handed hitter's dream. It also can prove to be a coach's nightmare.

"A lot of times guys get out here with the wind blowing and try to hit four homers," Plant coach Dennis Braun said. "Sometimes it can work against you."

Saturday, it didn't.

The Panthers hit a pair of home runs as Plant scored nine runs in the last two innings to defeat the Chiefs 15-4.

"Sometimes with the wind blowing, guys will try to do too much," Chamberlain coach Dick Rohrberg said. "But (Plant) really came out and hit the ball hard."

Senior outfielder Jonathon Hernandez hit Plant's first homer, a line drive that just cleared the leftfield fence in the sixth inning. Dylan Brown then left no doubt about his, blasting a tape-measure shot that landed on the street behind the Chiefs' field.

"Dylan's was out of any stadium on any day," Braun said.

Patrick Wilson clubbed a three-run shot in the seventh for the Chiefs, but it was too little too late as the Panthers avenged an 11-9 Saladino Tournament loss to Chamberlain.

"We set the (Saladino) Tournament record for hits (15) the first time we played them, but we didn't make the right adjustments at the plate (Saturday)," Rohrberg said. "And our pitchers got behind and left the ball up too often."

And Plant's hitters took advantage, particularly the top of the order. The Panthers' first three batters went a combined 7-for-11. Leadoff man Ryan McCurdy finished 3-for-3 and Bobby Munoz went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

"Our hitting has been a bright spot for us all season," said Braun, whose team has one more regular-season game before the district tournament gets under way. "And essentially these 20 or so games during the regular season are practice for the district tournament, so you want to be on fire with the bats at this time of the year."

[Last modified April 24, 2005, 01:03:20]