Generals Take Two-Game Lead Over Royals

Taylor Perkins hit a two-run HR in the first inning as No. 4 Dinwiddie didn’t look back.

Prince George baseball coach Mickey Roberts said it all.

�??If
[Dinwiddie] comes out and plays like this, they have a chance to win
the [Central] Region,�?� the longtime Royals coach said after his team
fell 9-1 at home to the Generals Tuesday night. �??I think they can beat
anybody in the region.

�??They played smart, they played hard and they played together. If they play like that, they�??re tough to beat.�?�

Dinwiddie, ranked fourth in the latest DigitalSports Top 10, jumped on Prince George starter Jackie Bradley in the first inning.

Leadoff batter Chad Heflin
(3 for 5, RBI, 3 SBs), in his second game back from a broken left
hand, singled to right field, then stole two bases to get to third.

He could have saved his energy, as Taylor Perkins blasted Bradley�??s 3-2 offering over the 350-foot wall in centerfield for a 2-0 lead over the sixth-ranked Royals.

�??It
was a good two-strike pitch,�?� said Perkins, who finished 1 for 3 with
two walks at the plate. �??It was a curveball around my knees. It was
just there.�?�

Four batters later, Alex Christopher drove in Colt Warren, who reached on an error, for a 3-0 lead as Bradley was pulled before getting an out in the second inning.

It got worse.

The Generals (7-0 Central District, 11-2) put up six runs in the fourth inning, four of them on RBI singles by Heflin, Josh Cox, Justin Clay and Chris King. The Royals (6-2, 8-4) were shell-shocked and behind 9-0 at their own place.

�??We knew that they were a game behind us,�?� Dinwiddie coach Shawn Wynn said. �??Our guys came out and jumped out early.�?�

Zach Henshaw
(2 for 3) provided an RBI single for the Royals in the bottom of the
fourth, but PG would scratch no more despite loading the bases in the
sixth inning. Bradley hit a sharp liner right at second baseman Cox to
end the threat.

�??It would have been 9-4 at that point,�?� Roberts said. �??I thought we still had a chance going into the seventh inning.�?�

There
weren�??t many PG opportunities because of the pitching of Perkins and
the defense of the Generals. He threw a complete game with seven
strikeouts, scattering eight hits to give the Generals a two-game lead
over the Royals halfway through the district docket.

�??To win this district,�?� Wynn said, �??you have to have 12 or 13 wins.�?�

Said
Roberts: �??I don�??t think this thing is over. We�??ve got to pick ourselves
up. We can�??t have a letdown in case something does happen.�?�