Doris hurls, hits Lions to win
Lefty hurls 3-hit complete-game shutout
COVENTRY- The Lincoln baseball team came into Tuesday’s matchup with the Oakers needing a win.
At 3-5, the Lions could ill afford to fall further behind in the standings with the regular season nearing its homestretch.
Coach Andy Hallam handed the ball to Sean Doris, with the lefty making just his second start of the year. The senior came through in a major way and would not disappoint, doing equal damage both on the mound and at the plate in a game the Lions went on to win, 4-0.
“Senior leadership. He steps up in the big games. He doesn’t say too much, but he comes through,” Hallam said.
Doris allowed just three hits, while striking out two and walking three in a completegame shutout.
In the seventh he connected for a two-run home run, his second hit of the day to double Lincoln’s lead.
The only other two runs came in the top of the first inning, with Lincoln jumping on Coventry starting pitcher Kyle Brown early, as Aaron DeSousa and Doris started the rally with backto-back singles. Designated hitter Steve Andrews doubled home DeSousa with the game’s first run before shortstop Blake Zaniol drove home Doris on a single up the middle to make it 2-0.
Brown would settle in from there, as he last four innings before senior Devin Hall took over for the final three innings of play.
Pitching has not been the problem for the Oakers this year, who dropped to 6-3 with the loss.
“Our pitchers have given us every opportunity that they can to get us a chance to win and right now, we’re making the opposition look really good,” Coventry head coach Leo Bush said.
He has noticed a trend in each one of his team’s defeats as well.
“It seems pretty much a given that we’re going to get the other teams’ best early in the week, Monday and Tuesday and that’s what has happened to us with our three losses.”
Prevented from pitching last season due to tendinitis, he has kept his game plan simple and straightforward while on the mound, with Tuesday’s outing serving as no exception.
“I just threw my fastball mostly,” he said, adding that he had the same approach in his other start.
“I did the same thing against South Kingstown. I was able to locate my fastball and it worked for the most part,” he said of a game Lincoln dropped 5-4 in extra innings,
He retired Coventry in order in both the fourth and sixth innings, continuing to frustrate the Oakers throughout the day.
“At this point right now, we’re just inside our own heads, making pretty good pitches look like very good pitches,” Bush said of his club’s offensive woes.
The score remained 2-0 through six innings of play, in part due to the fact that Coventry catcher Cam Reid successfully threw out three potential base stealers, but the Oakers could not respond with any sort of offense.
After DeSousa drew a one-out walk in the top of the seventh, Doris essentially put the game to rest with a tworun blast that cleared the fence in right, doubling the Lions’ lead to make it 4-0.
“Saw a fastball. Thought it was a normal fly ball and it just happened to go over the fence,” he said of the shot.
While four runs in the final inning of play is not an insurmountable deficit, the Oakers would go quietly in the home half of the seventh, with Doris starting a 1-6-3 double play to seal the victory.