April 22, 2008 – COVINGTON
The Covington Buccaneers captured a 9-2 victory over rival Bradford on Tuesday, but head coach Mitch Hirsch wasn't very thrilled with the mental approach of his team.

"I don't think we were ready to play mentally," Hirsch said. "I don't know if we took them too lightly or what the problem was, but we were not ready to play when the game started."

Hirsch's displeasure was due to the two unearned runs Bradford put on the board in the first inning thanks to two errors on the same play and three walks.

"We gave up two unearned runs in the first inning and it could have been much worse because they had bases loaded," Hirsch explained. "We were fortunate to get out of that inning only giving up the two runs."

The lackluster effort may have been a wake-up call for the Buccs as they responded with a run in each of the first three innings to take a 3-2 lead.

Plus, starting pitcher Andy Sparks settled in and found his groove on the mound. Sparks pitched five innings, striking out four and allowing just two hits.

"Andy kept his composure," said Hirsch in regards to overcoming the first inning troubles. "He's a competitor and doesn't get rattled too easily."

David Moss came in to pick up the save as he struck out all six batters he faced in the sixth and seventh.

Meanwhile, the Buccaneer bats came alive in the bottom of the fifth and sixth, which resulted in three runs in each inning.

"We had ten hits tonight, but I'm not happy that we stranded eight batters," Hirsch said. "Their pitcher (Trey Sanderson) did a really good job keeping us off balance. He's a nice player."

Kyle Kanet had the big hit for Covington, a solo home run in the first inning.

Both Nate Lavey and David Moss pounded in three RBI as Lavey was 2-for-3 and Moss batted 2-for-4.

Andy Sparks helped himself out with two doubles and two RBI, while Darrell Thobe went 2-for-3.

The victory improves Covington's record to 8-3 and 5-1 in the CCC. The Buccs travel to franklin Monroe on Thursday.

Scoring by Innings:
Bradford .......2...0...0...0...0...0...0 - 2 .. 2 .. 2
Covington ....1...1...1...0...3...3...x - 9 .. 10 .. 2