FREDERICKTOWN — If you’re going to break out of a slump, it’s best to do it during the playoffs.
Fredericktown center fielder Matt Smith hit two home runs — his first of the 2011 season — as the Freddies crushed Worthington Christian, 15-2, in a run-shortened sectional final on Thursday.
Smith, who led the area in home runs as a freshman last season, has consistently hit above .500 all year. But the dinger had eluded him until Thursday.
“He was telling me he was having trouble turning on the fastball,” Fredericktown head coach Rusty Staab said. “Looks like he figured it out.”
Smith wasn’t the only Freddie showing power in the sectional final. Zach Carter slammed a two-run shot over the left field fence in the fourth inning. Nash Cunningham and Austin Hoeflich each added a double in the second.
The Fredericktown offensive show began in the second inning. Cunningham and Hoeflich’s doubles got the inning started. Carter then reached on a two-base error off a bunt that scored Hoeflich. Mitch Sellers’ single then knocked in Carter, and the rout was on.
