By: Griffin Porter
Centennial Colts pitcher Austin Fraser may have been facing the best offence in the division in the Durham Lords, but that didn't stop him from pitching his best start of the season to help earn Centennial a big win in the second half of the doubleheader. Fraser threw all 7 innings of Game 2, limiting the Lord's offence to one run on just three hits while walking zero batters and striking out eight. Centennial won 3-1 after losing the earlier game 5-1.
The first game of the evening established it would be a good night for pitchers on both sides, as neither team could get a great offence going against the opposing arms. Centennial starter Jack Middleton put together a complete performance, allowing just two runs through the first six innings while striking out six. The Colts offence started the night off right, with Nick Greenslade scoring a run in the first inning off of the bat of catcher Garret Kratz but struggled to get baserunners after that point. Durham finally broke through against Middleton in the 7th inning and tacked on three more runs to secure the first win of the evening.
Fraser was the one who got off to a hot start in the late game and never looked back. The big right-hander forced two groundouts before adding a strikeout looking in the first inning and let his momentum gather from that point, while Centennial scored two runs in the 3rd and added an insurance run in the 4th. After the game, Fraser was humble, even though he had just put up the Colts' best pitching performance of the season. "My defence behind me," said Fraser when he asked for the secret to his success. "Kratzy called a great game (at catcher), and the boys worked behind me. I just wanted to fill up the zone, let them hit the ball, and let us work."
It was a pivotal performance for a Centennial Colt's team that needed a good win as they head to the end of the regular season. Tonight's victory makes a playoff berth far more likely for the Colts and could have even more of a benefit, according to Fraser. "We can compete," said the pitcher. "There's no team out there that can just walk all over us. When we play our game and play our baseball, we can win and beat anybody. The boys just need to have confidence, and we have it." Centennial will look to put their newfound confidence on display in their regular-season finale when they take on Humber on Friday.