CENTERBURG — After watching an early lead evaporate, the Fredericktown baseball team dug deep and discovered a little bit about itself Monday.
The Freddies led 3-0 early, but watched as Centerburg rallied to knot the score at 3 through five innings. But, the Freddies’ big guns stepped up when needed, scoring the game-winning run an inning later to pull out a 4-3 victory over the host Trojans.
“This was a big win,” said Fredericktown coach Tom Craze. “That’s a well-coached Centerburg team. Joe (Smith) does a great job with them.
“We were able to maintain our focus and remain aggressive at the plate. We got the run when we needed to.”
Fredericktown (4-1) started strong, scoring twice in the first inning, thanks to some timely hits and some help from the Trojans (5-1). Austin Hathaway and Matt Smith both reached on errors, then scored as Tristin Caudill smacked a single. But, with the bases loaded, Centerburg starting pitcher Brock Cutlip was able to coax an inning-ending double play from the Freddies.
“Brock pitched great. He battled, especially in the first,” said Centerburg coach Joe Smith. “We should have been three up, three down. But, our defense stepped up later and made some good plays.
“They (Fredericktown) are a good team. They’re aggressive and going to win a lot of games. You can’t help a team like that, especially early.”
Fredericktown added another run in the second when Mitch Sellers smacked a one-out triple and scored on a single by Nash Cunningham.
