The game of baseball always comes down to pitching and defense. In the baseball version of the Silver Spike Monday night at Sherman’s Veterans Field, one team had great pitching and one team played subpar defense. The result was a 5-0 win for Howe (17-8) and a matchup with Whitesboro (event) at Sherman in the first round of the playoffs.
A combination of six errors committed by Van Alstyne and a solid starting outing by Howe sophomore Mason Riggs and three shutdown innings in relief by senior Matt Griffin was truly the story of the game. Riggs escaped a one-out bases loaded jam in the third inning by getting a strikeout and a fly out. That was the only trouble Riggs ran into the entire game as he went four innings, allowing no runs on five hits, striking out four, and walking one. Griffin’s numbers were equally impressive as he tossed three shutout innings, allowing one hit, and striking out five.
Howe took an early lead in the bottom of the first as Griffin drove in Brice Krantz on a line drive single to right. Howe added two more runs in the third as Jaden Matthews came home from third on a wild pitch and Griffin reached on a shortstop error that allowed Krantz to score.
In the bottom of the fourth with two on, Krantz singled to left and the ball escaped the left fielder allowing both runners to score for a 5-0 Howe lead.
Click for Game Photos by Michelle Carney
