By JON GARTEN
Salina Journal
In a typical legion baseball summer, Vince Froome would not have played for the Salina Hawks.
However, since the Eagles, Salina's 15-year-old team, did not have enough players this year, Froome, 15, is playing for the Hawks. That was good for the Hawks on Friday at Dean Evans Stadium as Froome went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBI to lead Salina to a 12-6 win over Andover Central.
"I'm hitting the ball prett od right now," Froome said. "It looked like a beach ball today."
Hawks coach Dee Kolzow said Froome has been doing a good job of making contact and not striking out.
"He's an asset to the team, but I'd still rather we had our 15-year-old program," Kolzow said. "But yes, I'm glad to have him. He's really helped, us and he's going to continue to help us."
The victory gave the Hawks a 1-0 record in pool play of the Grand Slam Tournament. A win tomorrow against Olathe East at 10 a.m. at James Matson Field will give the Hawks a bye until the semifinals Sunday.
Kolzow watched Andover Central beat Olathe East, 4-0 in extra innings, Friday morning. He said Olathe East was a balanced team.
"They're a good ballclub," Kolzow said. "They switched pitchers about every three innings. They're good defensively. I thought they hit the ball so we're going to have to play well, but I think we can."
Against Andover Central, the Hawks scored five runs in the top of the third inning to take a 5-1 lead.
Sander Bryan tripled with one out in the inning. Cole Dhabalt drove in pinch runner Travis Dolan for the Hawks' first run of the game. Froome later drove in two with a double to the gap in left field to give the Hawks a 5-1 lead.
In the fifth and sixth innings, the Hawks capitalized on three errors by Andover Central to score four in the fifth and three in the sixth.
While Andover Central gave up runs in bunches, the Hawks never gave up more than two in an inning. Kolzow said his team had been struggling at preventing the big inning.
"In the past, if we make an error, our pitcher feels like they have to strike somebody out, and they walk somebody," Kolzow said. "The pressure builds up, and then we end up giving up four or five or six runs in an inning. Today, we didn't do that."
Hawks designated hitter Shane Schoenhofer went 3-for-3 with an RBI and was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning.
Starting pitcher Danny Backes struck out four, walked four and gave up five runs in six innings for the Hawks. Brant Weaver pitched the seventh inning and gave up one run.
©Salina Journal