Deacon Jones Invitational: Spring Creek cages Dixon

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on March 30, 2008 2:04 AM

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PRINCETON -- Spring Creek shook off the doldrums from a Thursday loss to a county rival and rebounded with a 10-4 decision over Dixon in the consolation game of the seventh annual Deacon Jones Invitational.

After falling to Rosewood in a five-inning contest 24 hours earlier, the Gators turned nine hits and four Dixon errors into 10 runs, and rode the solid pitching of Alex Casey. Casey threw six innings for the Gators, who played their final tune-up before Tuesday's Class 1-A Carolina Conference opener against defending state champion Princeton.

"We were able to manufacture some runs," said Gators head coach Heath Whitfield. "They walked a few and we got some bunts down that we needed to and stole a couple of bases."

Spring Creek parlayed four walks and a pair of Bulldogs errors into four runs in the bottom of the first. Dixon erased its goose egg with a third-inning run, while the Gators continued to find ways to score on the Fred Bartholomew Complex diamond.

Dante Boseman's bunt and error allowed Anthony Dixon to cross home in the third inning. Anthony Brogden supplied an RBI single in the fourth, which scored Paul Hayes. A wild pitch and balk helped Spring Creek boost its advantage to 8-1 in the fifth inning.

The Gators capped their 10-run offensive with a two-run, sixth-inning rally. A Bulldog error and groundout capped the scoring.

Hayes ended the day 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Brogden batted 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Boseman added two hits, while Tim Rogers and Steven Best each went 1-for-2 at the plate.

"We just put the ball in play," Whitfield said. "That's what I asked them to do was make Dixon play it and we did a good job of that. We had a little meeting (Thursday) night and we came out ready to play today."

An all-tournament team selection, Casey handcuffed Dixon's offense throughout the afternoon. The senior right-hander permitted four earned runs on eight hits, while posting three strikeouts.

Hayes pitched the seventh.

"Alex did a super job," Whitfield said. "I couldn't ask for any more from him. Our defense made the plays we had to and Alex made the pitches he had to make."