Published: July 02, 2009 09:04 am      

Too hard to handle

By Les Dixon / Sports Editor

When it comes to winning championships, pitching is key.

And it looks as if James Brooks’ North Laurel Minor League All Stars have enough pitching to make a deep run into post-season play.

North Laurel’s pitching staff flexed their muscles for the third consecutive game, while its offense shined as well during its impressive 18-1 win over Clay County in the winner’s bracket finals of the Area 2 Tournament in Corbin.

“Before the game started, I asked the kids to show a lot of heart and character and they did that tonight,” Brook said. “This group of kids go out and do everything I have asked them to do. We came out and hit the ball well and pitched the ball well.”

It didn’t take long for North Laurel to take control of the game, as Shane Caudill and Cole McWhorter each scored on passed balls in the first inning to give their team a 2-0 edge.

The two runs turned out to be all pitcher Weston Griebel would need.

He finished the game with eight strikeouts and limited Clay County to only two hits during his five innings of work.

“Weston pitched a great game for us,” Brooks said. “I couldn’t have asked him to do any better. He was great out there tonight.”

North Laurel added to its lead in the third inning, as six runs scored. Brian Gray, Griebel, Caudill, Matt Brooks, McWhorter and Dalton Smith each scored in the inning, while Brooks, McWhorter and Tyler Conway each drove in runs in with hits.

Brooks’ squad added another run in the fifth inning, as Gaynor drove in Conway with a ground out to give North Laurel a 9-0 edge.

North Laurel continued its dominance in the top of the sixth inning by scoring nine runs.

Smith and Gaynor had run-scoring hits in the inning, while McWhorter delivered a run-scoring double.

“I never expected us to hit the ball like we did tonight,” Brooks said. “I knew we could hit, but I didn’t think we would score 18 runs.

The win advances North Laurel to the District Tournament in Tri-Cities, which will begin next week.