West's Howard tips hat to his brother's advise

West's Bryce Howard dominated the East batters as he tossed a three-hit gem, allowing only one run and notched 11 strikeouts. His complete-game effort was enough to give West a 2-1 victory over its rival, but it almost is not fair for Howard. After all, he had help while on the mound.

"When I am out there and struggling a little bit, I just take off my hat and look at what I have written there. It says, 'Strike first, strike fast, strike hard.' It is a saying I got for my brother (Ryan) who is in the Air Force and is over in Iraq. He is a great guy and he has helped me a lot," said Howard.

Howard got more than just the inspirational help from his brother. He also got some help from his teammate on a controversial call.

In the sixth inning, with the team clinging to its one-run lead, Howard appeared tired and was laboring. East had just scored and had men aboard first and second. The Leopards' Eric Bohling hit a looper into left field. C.J. Salinas charged hard and made a diving catch.

At least that is what Howard and the rest of the Panthers say. However, the East faithful thought it was dropped, allowing at least a tying run to have scored.

"I thought he caught it and lost it on the transfer," Howard said.

The only thing that mattered was that the umpires called it an out, and Howard came back out and finished his business in the seventh for the win.

"Bryce did a great job for us," said West coach Bill Groves. "He's a bulldog out there. He just fights and fights. That's the type of guy we want out there."

While Howard threw a great game and got the win, Bohling also turned in a terrific performance for East but was saddled with the loss. He gave up the two runs and four hits in the first inning, but settled down after that and did not allow another run, scattering four more hits in the next five innings.

"We came out aggressive and got on their pitcher a little bit early," Groves added. "We didn't score or capitalize in all our situations, and their pitcher (Bohling) settled down and began hitting his spots and turned this into a pitchers' duel."

It did not appear it would be a low-scoring game as West's Sam Raymond doubled from his No. 2 spot in the lineup, and Howard helped his own cause as he followed that with a single. The game's two biggest hits followed as Mike Hanna and Jacob Zumbrennan had back-to-back RBI singles for the only runs batted in.

West ran itself out on the base paths, missing out on another pair of other runs. It was something Groves blamed on himself saying, "I probably got a little to aggressive being caught up in the rivalry."

No. 4-ranked West (9-3 overall and 5-2 in Region 6) moved to second place by itself and continues to prove that it is a contender.

"We are a young team, and as long as they play hard and hustle and do the things I ask, I'll be a happy camper," concluded Groves.

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E-mail: mblack@desnews.com