Sports - May 2003

Solid pitches, strong plays lead Wolves

By JOHN MARK BROOKS, LTN Staff Writer

Offense may fill the seats, but defense wins championships.

With the conference tourney looming two weeks away, the Lincolnton Wolves hope defense will be their vehicle into the playoffs — it was Saturday as they beat Shelby 4-2.

Bradley Dalrymple may have only gone 1-1 at the plate along with a couple of walks, but he was able to make his mark on the game with his defense. With the Wolves ahead 3-1 in the third inning and men on first and third, Dalrymple turned in his first gem, gunning pinch runner Cook at home for the inning’s second out.

“I was laying back a little bit and didn’t really expect the ball to come to me. I came up and made the throw … it turned out all right,” the centerfielder said.

Lincolnton pitcher Justin Keever struck out Tyler Trice to end the threat for the Wolves.

With the score still at 3-1 in the fifth, Shelby looked to rally. Keever struggled with his control, but Dalrymple literally had his back. With the bases juiced, Trice crushed the ball to right-center — what looked for certain to be a game-tying hit. Dalrymple had other plans as he twirled his way into making a great catch and quickly getting the ball back into the infield.

“The sun was in my eyes so bad I could barely see it; I heard somebody say, ‘Back.’ So I ran back as fast as I could. I didn’t even look, then turned around and the ball was right there,” Dalrymple said of his clutch play.

The Lions were able to score one run as pinch runner Chris Welch scored on an error after Dalrymple’s second defensive gem.

Dalrymple doubled in the bottom of the sixth to start off the inning. Designated hitter Ryan Pendleton reached on an error sending Dalrymple to third. That’s when leadoff hitter Brian Ebert came up with a big sacrifice fly, pushing the Wolves ahead for good 4-2.

Ebert’s description of the big play was simple:

“I just try to do what’s best for the team, produce runs and do my job. We need this win.”

Keever picked up the win for the Lincolnton, allowing only three hits and striking out five.

“I was just trying to get people out. Coach told me to throw strikes and we made good plays; I was just trying to get us the win,” he said.

Lincolnton Head Coach Bobby Martin credited Keever with “doing a good job of bearing down and getting people out.”

If he had not done so “he would have had to go through the heart of their order again and would have made the seventh a lot tougher,” Martin said.

Even though a season title is out of the question, Martin said winning the conference tournament still could lead to a playoff berth.

The win moves the Wolves’ record to 9-12 overall and 5-7 in the conference.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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