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Dixon second baseman Drew Denoia applies a tag at second for an out in the first inning on Thursday.
The Daily News / Randy Davey
Dixon ousted by Hobbton
Bulldogs fall 3-0
DIXON - A milestone season for the Dixon High baseball ended more prematurely than what the Bulldogs anticipated.
A team that all season made noise with its bats, Dixon registered just five hits in a 3-0 defeat to Hobbton on Thursday in the first round of the NCHSAA 1-A playoffs.
The Bulldogs (15-9) hoped to continue a season that saw them win their first Coastal Plains 1-A Conference championship since 1995. Instead, it will be a Wildcats team that entered with just seven victories after earning the fourth seed from the Super Six 1-A Conference, that will advance.
Hobbton will face the winner of Midway-Northside (Pinetown).
"Two reasons I accept losing, No. 1 they are better than us, which they were not, and second it was just their night" said Dixon head coach Jack Brown. "If we played them five times we would have beaten them four times, but tonight was just their night."
Wildcats pitcher Joseph Thornton stymied the Bulldogs. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out two in a complete-game effort.
Freshman Rookie Davis went 2-for-3 while senior J.J. Schoonover, sophomore Patrick Batchelor and freshman Joey D'Zurilla each had a hit for Dixon.
"Their pitcher pitched a very good game," said Dixon assistant coach Jeff Lovingood. "We just couldn't hit the ball the way we needed to. We hit right at them."
Senior Scott Duvall suffered the loss after he yielded five hits and two earned runs in six innings. He walked two and struck out eight to help his side stay close.
Adam Raynor went 2-for-3, Allen Britt had a double and an RBI; and Tyler Britt had a hit and RBI for Hobbton, which took the lead in the second before extending the margin with a pair of scores in the sixth.
"Scott definitely did not pitch badly," Lovingood said. "Tonight was just not our night."
The defeat concluded the careers of seniors Schoonover, Duvall, Drew Denoia, Shawn Gagnon and Charlie Allen. That bunch can take some credit for the progression of Dixon's baseball program in recent seasons.
"The seniors came into the program and improved a lot," Brown said. "They have nothing to be ashamed about, they ended up winning the conference, and 30 years from now they will come back and look at that 2008 banner.
"(Losing) is just part of the game. You win some, you lose some."
Added Lovingood: "We are very proud of the boys. It has been a good season."
Hobbton 010 002 0 - 3 7 2
Dixon 000 000 0 - 0 5 2
WP-Thornton 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K. LP-Duvall 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. LEADING HITTERS-H: Raynor 2-3; Evans 1-3; Thornton 1-2, 2B; Skinner 1-3; T. Britt 1-2, RBI; A. Britt 1-3, 2B, RBI. D: Schoonover 1-4; Batchelor 1-3; Davis 2-3; D'Zurilla 1-2. RECORDS-H: 8-15, vs. winner of Midway-Northside in second round. D: 15-9, season complete.
