BASEBALL: Peacock keeps Bulldogs on their chain

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on March 31, 2017 9:59 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

Rosewood pitcher Jonathan Peacock isn't but 5-foot-11 and 155 pounds.

His frame doesn't bring much intimidation when he steps onto the mound. Then he winds up his right arm and hurls the ball into Derek Neal's mitt, creating a loud thud.

There's the intimidation.

Peacock was dialed in Thursday night, and spearheaded a 7-0 victory over Princeton in Carolina 1-A Conference play. The junior struck out 10 Bulldogs, gave up three hits and didn't walk a soul in a complete-game effort. He moved to 4-0 on the mound this season.

"(Peacock) stayed in the strike zone," said Eagles' head coach Jason King. "He threw to contact. He's throwing to contact and guys putting the ball in play and the defense playing behind him did a good job. I thought he really dialed it in midway through the game, and threw the ball really well."

Princeton had its opportunities, but Peacock quickly shut down each threat.

In the second inning, the Bulldogs' Anthony Jones reached on an error. Peacock struck out the next two batters. When Adam Crocker hit a single, Peacock calmly struck out Will Gurganious to end the inning.

The next serious chance for Princeton didn't come until the sixth inning. Alex Hickman and Tanner Flowers were on second and third with two outs.

Peacock didn't allow his feathers to be ruffled. Instead, he forced Jones into a groundout to end the inning.

"(Peacock) commanded the strike zone," said Bulldogs' head coach Justin Willoughby. "He commanded his three pitches and threw a lot of strikes. He stayed ahead in the counts, and we didn't make very many adjustments at the plate."

This season, Peacock has recorded 31 strikeouts and has allowed just four walks in 28 2/3 innings pitched.

King believes Peacock has all the tools required in an ace pitcher.

"(Peacock's) calm, and he's cool up there," King said. "He works quickly. He mixes his pitches up well, and he can throws three pitches for a strike. Which is good, especially at the high school level to be able to do that. I think all those things combined make him pretty successful."

Though Peacock didn't need much help, Rosewood's bats provided plenty of insurance. Chance Howard went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple. Neal slammed a solo homer and Boone Moody added two hits -- a double and an RBI triple.

The Eagles have won seven straight games and have a two-game lead in the league standings. King said there isn't a magic formula to keep his team from complacency. He just encourages them to keep their foot on the gas.

"I think they buy into that process that we're going to be successful," King said. "No matter what the score is, we're going to be successful."