| Helper Legion baseball pitcher Chandler Pearson releases to an Olympus batter. Pearson allowed only two hits in four innings in Monday’s opening game of the 2004 season, which Helper won 9-0 in five innings. |
With the early-season shifting that takes place on any athletic team, the performance of the collective players is often hindered until the right blend is found.
However, Helper Legion baseball was unable to find a bad combination amongst its 22-man roster in Monday’s season opening home game against Olympus.
Helper defeated the visting team 9-0 in five quick innings, despite playing a constant game of musical chairs with the positions on the field.
Former Emery High player Chandler Pearson was one of the more stationary players for the Helper club, pitching four innings while allowing only two hits.
Pearson ended the night with six strikeouts and the win.
Helper came out on the field hot, scoring three runs in the first and adding another two runs in the third.
Meanwhile, Olympus struggled at the plate against Pearson and allowed several routine grounders to make it past the infield.
After walking the first three Helper batters in the fifth inning, Olympus gave up a triple to Frankie Iriart, elevating the score to 8-0. Iriart would score on an error to end the game by the nine-run rule.
Coach Jeff Cisneros said he thought the team was strong for its debut game.
“We need to hit a little better and clean up some defensive things, but for the first game I thought we played well,” he commented.
Helper will host its annual baseball tournament this weekend at Gardner field, with games beginning today.