April 2, 2008 – COVINGTON
With the unpredictable spring weather wreaking havoc on Covington's practice schedule, the Buccaneers were chomping at the bit to get outside and baseball on the sand and grass.

That opportunity finally came Wednesday and Covington took advantage with a 10-0 victory over Milton-Union in five innings.

"We've been cooped up inside for so long it was nice to get outside for once," said Covington coach Mitch Hirsch. "The kids were so ready to play this game."

It showed as the Buccaneers loaded the bases in the first inning as Adam Craft strolled to the plate with two outs. The sophomore drilled a line shot into a gusty wind over the left field fence for the grand slam and a 4-0 Covington lead.

"It was big for us to come out with a strong first inning," Hirsch said. "When you put runners on you want to take advantage of it - especially when you load the bases. That was a big hit by Craft."

Covington couldn't duplicate it's success from the first inning in the next two as the young Milton team settled down. Starting several freshman, the Bulldogs managed numerous spectacular defensive plays in the outfield to prevent Covington hits.

"I was a little worried after we got up to the 4-0 lead and then didn't get any runs in the second or third," Hirsch explained. "We've done that in the past where we got up on teams and didn't put them away. It looked for a while like we were in cruise control."

Hirsch's worries were relieved in the fourth as Covington scored two more runs and then put the game away with a four-run fifth inning.

"We did a nice job of putting a bat on the ball," Hirsch said. "We had nine hits in five innings and only struck out once. Our timing still isn't there because we haven't been able to hit outside much, but that will come in time."

The Buccaneers were also aggressive running the bases as they had seven steals.

"We have a lot of team speed, even more than last year," said Hirsch. "When we get runners on we want them to be aggressive - smart, but aggressive."

David Moss was stellar on the mound as went the distance for the two-hitter. He struck out eight and walked just one batter.

"He (Moss) was in complete control from the get go," described Hirsch. "He stayed ahead of the batters and picked his spots. He only threw about 60 pitches tonight, which is really good to see for the first time out. He's picked up where he left off last year."

Moss also contributed at the plate, going 2-for-3 on the afternoon. Andy Sparks was also 2-for-3, while Kyle Kanet went 2-for-4.

But the big stick belonged to Adam Craft as he went 1-for-2 with the on being the first inning grand slam.

Covington (1-0) will have little time to enjoy a season-opening victory as it travels to Riverside tomorrow afternoon.

Scoring by Innings:
Milton-Union ........0..0..0..0..0 - 0
Covington .............4..0..0..2..4 - 10