Nelson trounces Gretna

By Ryan Yemen Daily Progress correspondent
Published: May 1, 2008

The Nelson County baseball team, two games out of the top spot in the Dogwood District, needed a district win against a struggling Gretna squad.
The Governors’ pitching and hitting were in their finest form against the Hawks on Wednesday as Nelson cruised to a 10-0 win.
“We’re a streaky hitting team, and normally it works the other way for us,” said Nelson coach Scott McGarry. “We’ve got four district games coming up and a chance to try and finish at the top of the district.”
Nelson’s Ben Ponton put together a five-inning complete-game shutout, giving up just four hits while striking out four.
“It was nice having all those runs,” Ponton said. “It allowed me just to go after the batters.”
The senior ace got all the run support he needed in the third inning as Nelson drove in seven runs.
Josh Ferguson and M.J. Wells hit complementary three-run home runs to lead the way.
Six of the first nine Nelson batters struck against Gretna starter Cory Owen.
“He was doing this bounce thing in the middle of his windup that kind of threw us off,” Wells said. “But the second time around, we figured it out.”
Wells drove in four runs, including the winning run in the fifth to end the game via slaughter rule.
“I heard them from the bench saying, ‘Don’t hit it too hard, M.J.,’” Wells said. The center fielder obliged and drove in the run on a ground ball through the middle of the infield.
The Hawks struggled on offense and defense, but have a chance to redeem themselves on Monday when they host the Governors in a rematch.
“[Nelson] hit the baseball, and there’s not much you can do about that,” said Gretna coach Cal Takata. “But we’re not hitting the baseball. We’ve got to put the ball in play.”
Nelson’s Andy Gordon and Jordan Wooten each had their way at the plate. The two combined for six of the Governor’s 12 hits, each going 3 for 3.