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College Sports
Tobs duo back in the swing Defense keys recent success for Wilson From staff reports Wilson Tobs right fielder Justin Parks and designated hitter Derek Simmons showed signs of life at the plate during Monday's win against Wilmington, prompting some inside analysis from teammate Nick Hogan. Parks, who had been 0 for 9 since Thursday, broke his hitless streak with a single in the fourth. "Parks is a big team leader. He keeps us going," Hogan said. "Whether he's struggling at the plate, he always finds a way to help the team out -- defensively, offensively or team morale." Simmons, who had been 5 for 33 in his last 10 games, went 2 for 4 with two singles. "He finally found the barrel and busted out of his slump with two big hits," Hogan said. sparkling defense With an error Monday, the Tobs broke their errorless streak at four games. That's the longest streak of that kind since the start of the 2001 season, when the Coastal Plain League began posting game-by-game stats in its archive. Wilson has turned its defense around since committing 14 errors in four games, including a season-high six on June 7 versus Columbia (its second most since 2003). Since that span, the Tobs have committed no more than two in any game and just six in their last 12 games. pressure from above If the Tobs shut out the opposing team at home, fans receive a free donut. The announcement came in the middle of the eighth inning with a runner on, and the Tobs leading 7-0 -- much to the amusement of Tobs pitcher Tim Adleman. The Tobs' ace broke into a grin after Britt informed the crowd of the possible sweet deal. "I said 'That's brutal,' to no one in particular," Adleman said. "The umpire might have thought I was talking about an earlier call so I made sure to straighten that out." Adleman isn't overly superstitious, but couldn't help but think about it after the announcement. "You see it all the time where someone mentions a no-hitter or a shutout," he said. "All the sudden, on the next pitch or the next AB, it's gone." Nothing Special Fans may have noticed third baseman Matt Sanders' orange and purple cleats the past few games, the colors of Clemson, his college team. The color scheme doesn't quite match the Tobs uniforms, particularly the yellow socks. When asked if the Clemson cleats were worn for luck, Sanders smiled and fished out his other pair of spikes from a bag. One was severely torn. "Yep, nothing special about these," he said in reference to the Clemson cleats. "These others are just falling apart."
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