Lack of hitting eliminates Fryers in

 2nd round of AAU tourney  

BY DEAN GREENAWAY

The Fryers can attest to pundits’ theory that good pitching stops good hitting. After a second place finish in their division with a 2-1 mark, they were eliminated last Saturday in the second round of the 2005 AAU men’s international fast pitch softball tournament at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex, in Orlando, Florida, following a 4-2 loss to Clearwater Pride.

Fryers founder and manager Rennie ‘Panchie’ Jeffers said simply, ‘We just didn’t bat enough.’ “Our pitching was dominating, but we just weren’t scoring runs, especially in the last game,” Jeffers recalled on Monday after the team’s return. “We didn’t bat at all.”

In the opener, Neville ‘Sheep’ Smith had five innings of no-hit ball before settling for a 2-hitter, in leading the Fryers to a 2-0 victory over the Orlando Kings in their first game. Smith, who went all the way, fanned 15 batters and settled for a 1-hitter. The Fryers had 2 runs on 2 hits no errors and 4 men left on base. Orlando Kings 0 runs on 1 hit 1 error and 1 left.

Javier Hernadez struck out eight and walked five in a losing cause. Sylvester Johnson went 1 for 3. Derwin Scatliffe reached on a strike out passball and later scored on another pass ball. The Kings’ Larry Wheeler had the only hit off Smith. The Bloomington Stix had a 4-2 triumph over the Fryers. They had 6 hits 1 error and 7 left on base. The Fryers had one hit, 2 errors and 4 men left on base. Winning Pitcher Trevor McCabe struck out 13 in six innings, while loser Allen Smith fanned nine also in six innings. George Burrows’ first inning single on a 1 for 3 game with one run batted in was the Fryers only hit.

The Fryers won their next game when the Cherokee Pirates forfeited 3-0, to finish second in their division with a 2-1 record, but were eliminated from competition after suffering a 4-2 loss to the Clearwater Pride, who had 9 hits 1 error and 8 left on base. The Fryers collected 4 hits, made 2 errors and stranded 4. Raymond Mercer who had relief help from Neville Smith and Allen Smith took the loss. Burrows went 1 for 3, while Sylvester Johnson, Austin Todman and Rufus Malone were one for one respectively.