MAY 5, 2009 - NEW MADISON
Things couldn't have worked out better for the Covington Buccaneers on Tuesday as the Buccs left New Madison with a 15-7 victory over Tri-Village and a three-way share of the Cross County Conference lead.

That's because Tri-County North defeated Franklin Monroe 3-2, leaving all three teams with one conference loss.

"It's tough to go through our league for an entire season without a loss," said Covington coach Mitch Hirsch. "We knew that after the FM (Franklin Monroe) game we lost. North beating them tonight just shows how tough it is to go through the league without losing a game."

This makes the undecided matchup between Tri-County North and Covington that much more important as the two teams must complete the game that was called due to darkness with the score knotted at 3-3 on April 17.

The game will be concluded on Saturday, May 16th in Lewisburg.

"We just have to take it one game at a time and keep working to get better," Hirsch said. "Hopefully we can continue to get our games in and get on a roll and then take care of business on the sixteenth."

Taking care of business is what Covington did Tuesday as it played one of its better defensive games in a while - despite the two recorded errors.

"Defensively, we played better than we have in a while," said Hirsch. "The two errors were tough plays, so you can live with that. We didn't kill ourselves by not making the routine plays tonight."

What concerned Hirsch was giving up four runs in the bottom of the first after scoring three runs in the top of the inning.

"Andy (Sparks) struggled tonight," described Hirsch. "We scored three runs to start the game and then gave up four. That's the type of stuff that will hurt you."

Sparks pitched through three innings and two batters into the fourth inning before being replaced by Kyle Kanet. At that point the game was knotted at 6-6.

But Kanet righted the ship and held Tri-Village to just one run the rest of the way.

"Kyle threw pretty well," said Hirsch. "And we were able to keep the pressure on them throughout the game because we scored runs in every inning but one."

Covington also hit the ball well as evident by the 13 hits on the afternoon.

And Kanet had the big bat with a 4-5 day, including a two-run home run and two doubles.

Andrew DeHart drove in four runs on a 2-5 day, while Nate Lavey and Chris Long both went 2-4. Lavey drove in two runs and Long's two hits were doubles.

"We hit the ball hard today, which is something we've done the last few games," Hirsch said. "We just need to get into a groove and develop some consistency all the way around."

Which Hirsch hopes happens if the weather holds out during the home stretch of the regular season and the tournament.

"It comes down to us being ready to play every night," said Hirsch. "Being ready and getting on a roll at the right time is what we have to look forward to. That means not doing things to beat yourself."

The victory improves Covington's record to 13-4-2 overall and 7-1 in the CCC as the Buccs host Ansonia on Thursday in another conference matchup.

SCORING BY INNINGS:
Covington ..........3...0...2...1...3...4...2 - 15 - 13 - 2
Tri-Village ..........4...0...0...3...0...0...0 - 7 - 6 - 7