Calvary vs The Rock Academy 4/2/12 (62nd Lion's Tournament)

                  Calvary Crumbles the Rock
A pair of sophomores lead Calvary Christian to a 3-0 victory over the Rock Academy in the opening game of the 62nd Annual Lion's Tournament.

Lefthanded starting pitcher David Carpenter tossed a two-hit, complete game shutout and Matt Hartman was the offensive hero of the game, putting on a one-man show by having a role in all 3 of Calvary's runs.

Carpenter pitched to only 1 batter over the minimum, walking 4 and striking out 7. He picked up his first win of the year and lowered his ERA to a miniscule 1.70. He received plenty of support because the Lions played their best defensive game of the year.

Junior catcher Caleb Whitley virtually shut down the Rock's potent running game by gunning down every runner who attempted to steal. He threw out 3 at second base and also picked a runner off first. The middle infield of shortstop Russell Harmening and secondbaseman Aaron Frazee turned two double plays to keep the game in order. The second double play was a nothing short of spectacular when Frazee ranged far to his left on a ball that most secondbasemen would have gotten the simple out at first, but he aggressively went after the ball and made a quick, strong throw to Harmening who finished off the twin killing.

The Lion's struck quickly putting up two runs in the first inning. Carpenter lead it off by popping a ball to shallow right that dropped in for a single. The rightfielder let the ball get away from him and Carpenter alertly took advantage of the mistake and scampered to second on the error. With two outs, Harmening walked to set the stage for Hartman who delivered a run-scoring ground-rule double that bounced high off the astroturf and over the right field fence to score Carpenter. Senior firstbaseman Sam Hebert knocked in another when he fought off a two-strike pitch and hit a soft line single to left scoring Harmening and making it 2-0.

Hartman gave Calvary a bit of breathing room in the 4th inning when he lofted a deep opposite-field fly ball down the right-field line that stayed fair and carried over the fence for a home run to extend Calvary's lead to 3-0. The solo shot was his first of the year.

That was all Carpenter and Calvary's defense needed as they shut down a very solid Rock offense.

The win puts Calvary's overall record at 8-4 and 1-0 in the Lion's Tournament. They take on an out-of-state team tomorrow, Del Sol from Las Vegas, Nevada. The game will be held at Kearny High School with the first pitch at 3:00.