High School Roundup : Crawford Shows Central Strength, 18-5

There was lots of time for fidgeting. Time for kicking some dirt. Time for thinking about which team might have a prayer of taking a chip out of Crawford’s perfect record in City Central League baseball.

There was so much spare time, Crawford baseball Coach Roger Engle was a bit worried about his pitcher. Crawford clubbed visiting Hoover, 18-5, Friday, and Chris Townsend (8-0) went the distance for the victory.

Problem was, Townsend spent more time sitting and hitting than he did pitching. So Engle had him warm up a couple of times while Crawford (16-3, 8-0) was having a field day against Hoover (9-8-1, 4-3) at the plate.

“Sometimes it’s hard to pitch if you’re sitting in there for 20 minutes,” Engle said.

Of course, the alternative is not getting all those hits and all those runs. Right?

“It’s better than going one-two-three,” Engle admitted.

Townsend helped his own cause, though it hardly needed assistance, going five for five with three singles and two doubles. There are two kinds of doubles at Crawford’s ballpark, the regular kind and those that could be mistaken for home runs by spectators not familiar with the surroundings.

The reason? The right field foul pole is just 240 feet from home plate. So, on days when the wind is cooperating, baseballs arrive frequently in the ice plant located just beyond the right field fence. A shot hit between the 240 pole and the 297 pole is a double. Townsend hit two of those.

Townsend also gave up three home runs. Two, both by Hoover leadoff hitter Tyrone Upton, snuck in just to the left of the 297 pole.

“I jammed him twice,” Townsend said. “They’re outs on other fields. It’s frustrating.”

But not too frustrating. Crawford did a tub full of hitting of its own, chasing Hoover starter and loser John Maes (2-4) in the fourth.

Third baseman Manny Gagliano was three for four with a home run. First baseman John Edge was two for four with a double. Left fielder Joe McWilliams was three for five.

Friday wasn’t unusual. Crawford has scored 55 runs in the past three games.

League play doesn’t figure to offer much of a challenge for Crawford. Townsend put it this way: “I think the teams that can give us trouble are the ones that we’ve destroyed in the last two games--Saints and Hoover.”