APRIL 1, 2010 - COVINGTON
Trailing 8-0 after the top of the second inning and facing the prospect of an 0-3 start, it wouldn't come as a surprise to see a young baseball team pack it in.

But packing it is wasn't an option for the Covington Buccaneers as they outscored Graham 12-1 for a come-from-behind 12-9 victory.

"Yeah, the kids could have packed it in," agreed Covington coach Mitch Hirsch. "We were down 8-0 and it was ugly. We wasn't playing well at all. But the kids hung in there and kept battling. We needed that (a win)."

Graham rattled Covington in its first two at bats, scoring three runs in the first and five more in the second inning.

"We had some defensive mistakes early that really cost us," Hirsch explained. "They (Graham) were hitting the ball, but we didn't help ourselves in the field."

Covington responded with three runs in the bottom of the second and three more in the third to cut the margin to 8-6. The rally couldn't have come at a better time for a Buccaneer team that has struggled hitting the ball in the two previous contests.

"We knew coming into the season that it would take a couple of game for us to get going offensively," said Hirsch. "But I didn't expect this after being down 8-0 like we were."

Graham responded with a run in the top of the fourth and appeared to be well on its way to victory after holding the Buccs scoreless in the bottom of the inning.

But Covington broke the bats out in a big way in the bottom half of the sixth with six runs to take a 12-9 lead.

C.J. Poling and Jake Stewart made it stand by hurling three scoreless innings.

"C.J. threw really well," Hirsch said. "After we brought him in late in the second inning and he only gave up the one run in the fourth."

Corey Haines had a big night at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two RBI.

Steven Blei was 2-for-3, while Jake Bitner and Andrew DeHart each doubled. DeHart also had two RBI.

In all, Covington tallied 10 hits on the evening.

"Hitting is contagious," said Hirsch. "Once the kids started to relax and have fun out there, they started hitting the ball. It's good to see us hit the ball like that."

With the first victory in three tries behind them, the Buccaneers look to keep the momentum going on Saturday with Lehman coming to town for a double-header.

Scoring by Innings:
Graham ...............3...5...0...1...0...0...0 - 9 .. 12 .. 4
Covington ...........0...3...3...0...6...0...x - 12 .. 10 .. 4