The weather when it comes to spring sports can be very unforgiving. That was the case on Thursday as a damp, cool wind was ever present as the Buccaneers hosted the Bulldogs in what turned out to be a 10-0 victory for Milford. With junior Landon Short taking the ball for the Bucs, following a tough 13-0 Wednesday loss to Sussex Central, the need for Short to take innings was paramount.
“The schedule is always tough at the beginning of the year and coming off of Wednesday, Short really came through for us today. We had a few other guys ready to go, but luckily we didn’t need them today, Landon was very efficient today.” Coach Matt Faulkner said.
Efficient might be an understatement. After a little bit of a slow start in the first inning, Short got hot as the temperature seemed to drop. Working the strike zone wonderfully, he worked his way out of the first inning unscathed and kicked into cruise control for the rest of the contest. While not overpowering, Short located his pitches throughout the zone and dominated by keeping the Brandywine hitters off balance.
Looking at the stat line, Short gave up three hits, struck out four, while only walking one. It was the control of the zone that kept the visiting Bulldogs, continually keeping the ball on the ground and a Milford infield alert and active as he worked quickly and methodically.
“I knew I had a good defense behind me, so what was most important to me was to locate my pitches and let the defense do their jobs. I really wanted the ball today. I wasn’t able to pitch last year so it was really a lot of fun to get out here and pitch like I did today.” Short said.
The Milford offense also got off to a fast start, plating three runs in the first and second inning. With the quick lead, Milford relaxed and seemed to play with a solid rhythm for most of the game. There were a few miscues on defense, but those are things that can be expected this time of the year.
“It wasn’t a super clean game, but it was a solid effort on the part of our defense. These are things we need to work on and I believe we will get better as the season goes on.” Faulkner said.
In the fifth inning, Milford would extend their lead to 9-0 as senior Joshua Miller drove a ball towards the bottom of the left center field fence with the bases loaded. Although Miller would remain stranded at second, the table was set to finish off Brandywine. After Short dispatched the Bulldogs in the top of the sixth, on his 79th pitch, Milford was ready to end the game as they pushed across the games 10th run in the bottom of the frame to end the contest.
Milford is now 3-2 on the season with a trip to Delmarva Christian High School set for Saturday at 10 AM.
