Davis' gem leads Falcons to victory

"Photo: Falcon Jimmy Davis prepares to deliver another pitch to a Lakewood batter. He largely baffled the Cougars in recording a one-hit shutout Wednesday.Matt Johnson / staff photoJunior lefty Jimmy Davis turned in sparkling mound performance in leading South Whidbey to a 4-0 baseball victory over Lakewood Wednesday.Only a lazy line drive single in the fifth inning separated Davis from a no-hitter.I gave him the game ball for the shut-out, said coach Bill Patterson. Davis fanned six hitters over seven inning while walking only two. He also hit one batter, so he faced 24 batsmen during the game -- only three over the minimum.His stuff wasn't overpowering, but he kept the ball in play. He did an excellent job of involving our defense, said Patterson. He got in a rhythm.In his 16 years at South Whidbey, Patterson has seen a lot of games pitched by such standouts as Greg Knaplund, Oliver Demuth and Yancy Salenjus. But he said Davis' game ranks in the top three in terms of taking control of the game . . . three up and three down, 70 pitches total -- it was just a gem.Offensively, South Whidbey had trouble scoring in the early going, leaving five men on base over the first two innings. In the third they scored twice. Kevin Arndt boomed a double to the deepest part of right center to the base of the fence 375 eet away. Following a double-play, freshman Josh Coleman singled Arndt home.I asked Davis, 'Does that give you enough runs?' Patterson said.Yup, Davis replied.And although Davis only needed one run, Colman scored on a throwing error that followed a Brian Gabelein single, making the score 2-0.In the fourth the Falcons added two more runs. With two outs and men on second and third Jesee Sitton popped up behind second and four Cougars watched the ball drop to the ground. The collective mental miscue allowed Lai Saepan and Brady Switzer to score.After hosting Mount Baker yesterday, the Falcons spend next week on the road at Mount Baker and Nooksack. Their next home game is April 19 vs. Nooksack.CorrectionKevin Arndt hit the grand slam home run home run against Sultan on March 31. The Record reported it with an incorrect first name in Wednesday's paper. We regret the error."

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