Whip-Purs look sharp in victory

Updated: April 13, 2011 3:34PM

Let the conference season begin.

Hampshire looked sharp on Monday in its final tuneup before opening Big Northern Conference action. The Whip-Purs were a 12-5 winner in a crossover game at Genoa-Kingston.

Jake Kuhn had a big day at the plate and on the mound. The righthander helped himself by reaching base all five times at the plate with two hits and three walks. He scored four runs and had two RBI.

On the mound Kuhn (2-0), Hampshire's No. 3 starter, held the Cogs scoreless through the first four innings before running out of steam down the stretch. He still managed to go 6-2/3 innings for the win.

"Jake gave us exactly what we needed," said Hampshire assistant coach Bob Fillmore, who replaced manager Steve Ream after Ream was injured during the game. "With the conference starting up we didn't want to use too many arms today. Jake gave us some strong innings at the start and then stayed in there and battled down the stretch. It was a good win for us. We've won four out of five now to give us some momentum."

Hampshire (5-4) got a little help from G-K starter Mike Murphy, who walked seven batters and hit another through the first three innings. The Whip-Purs cashed in on the opportunities to score twice in the second inning and then four more times in the third inning to chase Murphy from the game.

The Whips scored four times when runners were forced in on free passes. Chase Lundry added an RBI single in the second inning. Dylan Nihells drove in a run with an RBI single during the third-inning rally.

"We did a nice job of being patient at the plate and taking advantage of the opportunities early on," said Fillmore. "As the game went on we were able to get more aggressive at the plate because they were really looking to get that first pitch over for a strike. So we told the guys to go up there looking for something to hit."

The Whip-Purs tacked on an unearned run in the fourth, another run in the fifth and four more in the sixth. Kuhn had an RBI single in the fifth and then ripped an RBI double in the seventh. Dan Gizywz added a two-run double in the seventh inning.

The Whip-Purs open conference play against Richmond today and they hope to have their coach back. Ream had to be taken to the hospital during Monday's game after he was accidentally struck with a bat to the head while walking near the on-deck circle between innings.

Ream was tended to for a head injury in the dugout and then escorted off on a cart. He was able to walk on his own and appeared to be in good spirits as he joked with supporters in the stands as he departed despite having a bandage around his head.

G-K (5-6) tried to rally from an 8-0 deficit by scoring a run in the fifth and three more in the fifth to cut the lead in half. But it was too little too late.

"It's frustrating when you fall behind early because you just can't throw strikes," said G-K coach John Latimer. "It makes you want to blow your stack, but we're going to hold together and just keep on working. It was good to see us make some adjustments at the plate and get the bats going. It was just too late."

Craig Billington went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Cogs. Ryan Oplt, Max Seisser, and David Garza also had RBI for G-K.

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