Devine slugs Atholton past Mt. Hebron, 12-3 His pair of 2-run HRs give Raiders 2-game league lead

Travis Devine of Atholton is in a groove.

The Raiders' clean-up batter went 3-for-3, slugged two home runs and drove in five runs yesterday, as Atholton won a showdown with No. 19 Mount Hebron, 12-3.

The victory moved No. 15 Atholton (13-3 overall, 10-1 league) two games in front of the second-place Vikings (11-4, 8-3) with three league games remaining. It was Atholton's fourth victory of the week.

"Travis has been a pleasant surprise after hitting about .220 last season," Atholton coach Kevin Kelly said.

His perfect day at the plate improved Devine's batting average to .403 (23-for-57).

"His first home run started out to be a terrible at-bat, because he swung at a couple of pitches in the dirt and got behind," Kelly said. "But then he turned the at-bat around by fouling off a couple of pitches."

The pitch Devine finally hit for a third-inning, two-run homer over the center-field fence was a hanging curve.

The next inning Devine hit an almost identical two-run homer to the same place off a fastball. Devine also singled home a run in the first inning, when Atholton scored three times.

"He's doing an awesome job," Atholton starting pitcher Chris Russ said about his senior catcher. "Not only can't people steal on him, but if they fall asleep they'll get picked off."

Devine picked off a Mount Hebron runner in the first inning to squash a potential big inning. Three of Mount Hebron's first four batters reached base.

Russ (2-1), a junior left-hander who hadn't started in almost two weeks, silenced a powerful Vikings attack on five hits.

"I didn't have my curve today and I got tired in the fourth inning, but my defense really helped me out," Russ said. "We're swinging the bats well, getting some breaks and playing with confidence now. Beating [No. 8] Glenelg this week really boosted our confidence."

Third baseman Scot Sabot made two good plays on hard-hit balls in the third inning, and shortstop Sean Williams made a diving catch in the fourth inning.

"Williams' catch was a major-league play," Kelly said. "No one else in our league could have made it."

Greg McDonald had a good day at the plate for Atholton, going 2-for-3 with a double.

McDonald, Jason Sandner and Brent Hooper hit RBI singles, and Eric Goldscher had an RBI double.

Jake France, Mount Hebron's starting pitcher, led the Vikings' offense with two singles. Randy Zwitch, who relieved France, hit a bases-empty home run. Tom Perone reached on a single, walk and error.

Pub Date: 5/05/96