The FB Austin Bulldogs ran their district record to 4-0 this afternoon with a 14-0 road victory over the Marshall Buffaloes. Starting Pitcher Andrew Keplinger picked up his first win of the season with an impressive 1-hit, 5-inning shutout, punctuated by 8 strikeouts.

The Bulldogs broke the ice in the top of the first, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring 4 runs on 5 walks, 2 errors, and 1 hit by DH Kyle Garoni. The Bulldogs added to that score with a pair of runs in the second, leading off with back-to-back doubles by CF Daniel Rockett and 1B Adam Shank, a one-out single by LF Aaron Marcynuk, and a sacrifice fly by C Drew Miller to make it 6-0.

After getting blanked in the third, Austin struck again in the fourth. Shank led off with a homer to right, and Garoni followed one out later with a single up the middle. After Garoni moved up on a wild pitch, LF Blake Doerr reached on a fielder’s choice to shortstop, with Garoni hustling into third ahead of the throw. Miller then knocked in both Garoni and Doerr with a hooking double past the left fielder.

The Bulldogs batted around again in the fifth, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring 5 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 errors. Three straight singles by SS Scott Viktorin, CF Tony Gigliotti, and Shank put up two of those runs. One out later, Garoni followed with his third hit of the day, and Doerr brought home the third run of the inning with a shot to third. With two outs, Miller knocked in the fourth run of the inning while collecting RBI #4 on the day with his second hit. After back-to-back walks to Fairbanks and Goodrich to load the bases, Viktorin capped the scoring with a mishandled ball to the second baseman.

On the other side of the ledger, Keplinger was a model of efficiency, setting down 4 straight before giving up a 1-out full-count walk in the second. He then set down the next 8 Buffaloes, including striking out the side in the fourth. After getting a strikeout for the first out in the fifth, Marshall muscled up for their first and only hit of the day, a clean shot to left. The Buffaloes did manage to load the bases on a hit batter and a walk, but Keplinger was in control the whole way, collecting Strikeouts #7 and #8 for the last two outs of the game.

Next up for the Bulldogs will be a home game against Elkins, while Marshall has a home game against Kempner; both games are Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Bulldog Offensive Highlights:

· 13 hits for the Bulldogs, 4 for extra bases: a single, double, and HR #2 for 1B Adam Shank (left on-deck a triple shy of the cycle); 3 singles for DH Kyle Garoni; a single and a double for C Drew Miller; a double for CF Daniel Rockett; and 1 single each for SS Scott Viktorin, CF Tony Gigliotti, LF Aaron Marcynuk, and 3B P.J. McKinley.

· 10 RBIs on the game: 4 for Miller, 3 for Shank, and 1 each for Viktorin, McKinley, and LF Blake Doerr.

Bulldog Pitching Highlights:

· Andrew Keplinger (1-1, 1-0), 5 innings, 8 K’s, 3 BB’s, 1 hit, 0 runs.

Bulldog Defensive Highlights:

· 8 K’s by Keplinger, and 8 balls in play handled flawlessly, 7 for outs.

Winning Pitcher: Andrew Keplinger (1-1, 1-0)

HR, FB Austin: Adam Shank (#2)

Score by inning: