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[Lynn Burke]

Denbigh pitching too tough so far
By Melinda Waldrop | mwaldrop@dailypress.com

Denbigh baseball coach Rusty Ingram is a little reluctant to talk about the individual statistics of his pitching staff, which is 7-0.

Allow others to fill in the blanks.

Danny Mitchell's Hampton team went up against the Patriots and sophomore starter Ethan Carter on Tuesday. The Crabbers managed just four baserunners (on three hits and a walk) in a 6-1 loss.

"He's the best pitcher we've seen up to now," Mitchell said. "... He has a good fastball and a changeup to go with it, and his location - he doesn't waste a lot of pitches. When he throws a waste pitch, you don't know it until it's in the catcher's glove."

Carter (3-0) has struck out 30 batters while giving up just two walks this season. Senior starter Cameron Roth (3-0) has matched Carter's record on the mound and is hitting .474 (11 hits in seven games) in the No. 5 spot in Denbigh's lineup. Junior Christopher McDougal (1-0) rounds out the undefeated rotation.

The Patriots have scored 65 runs while allowing 17. But Ingram is more excited about another, more obscure stat: Denbigh batters have drawn 22 walks and been hit by pitches eight times while striking out just 27 times.

"That's 30 free bases to go with 27 strikeouts," Ingram said. "That's a pretty good ratio."

On Friday, Ingram will go up against his former high school coach when the Patriots (7-0, 5-0 PD) travel to Gloucester (5-1, 4-1), a game behind Denbigh in the Peninsula District standings. Derek Kibler is in his first year as the Dukes' coach and is assisted by Tommy Dutton, who coached Ingram in his senior season at York High School.

The Dukes have collected 34 hits in their last three games, led by Mike Mihalcoe's four hits in his last two outings. The heart of Gloucester's order (No. 3-5 hitters) has 12 hits in the Dukes' last two games, including four doubles and a triple. "I don't think there's really much pressure on us," Kibler said. "I think if there's any pressure, it has to go to them. We're just happy to be the ones to play them (and) be in a position to tie for first place."

Mitchell's Hampton team is the only one to beat Gloucester this season, handing the Dukes an 8-4 home loss on March 20. He said the Patriots might have a slight hitting edge over the Dukes.

"Right now, in my opinion, it's Denbigh and then it's everybody else," Mitchell said. "And I think somebody's gonna beat Denbigh. But they're gonna have to have an off day."

Kecoughtan coach John Greene, whose team lost 10-0 to Gloucester in 10 innings on Tuesday, said the Dukes have a shot to be that team. But Greene said the Dukes will have to find an answer to Denbigh's dominant arms.

"I think they can hit with them, but I think Denbigh may have the pitching to shut them down," Greene said. "It'll be interesting to see."

[PDplayer]

every team in the PD is fairly close...it will be a battle to the end. Denbigh has the bats and the pitching...but other teams are not far behind. cant wait till the end is a little closer...when the battle really begins...

[Rockitj]

It was 7-2 Denbigh not 6-1!

[BaseballFan1]

6-1 first game; 7-2 second game
Both won by Denbigh

[PDperson]

Denbigh pitching is awsome. Menchville played up to their potential against them the 2nd time around though.