Rockets clinch BN-E crown

The Burlington Central baseball program entered dynasty territory with a 7-6, nine-inning victory over visiting Harvard Tuesday.

The win against the second-place Hornets (16-9, 6-3) clinched the outright Big Northern East title for the Rockets (16-6, 8-0), their first BNE title since 2007 and fourth in five seasons.

The string of success could well continue; the Central batting order against Harvard consisted of four juniors, two sophomores and a freshman.

"We all knew we were talented, but we just had to put everything together and show what we did," sophomore Nick Hahn said. "We'll see how far we can go this year. We've got good things going for us."

Hahn, Central's cleanup hitter with a .420 average, delivered the game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning. With a runner already at second base courtesy of a Harvard error to open the inning and a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Sam Klein, Hornets coach Ryan Frenk elected to walk No. 3 hitter Austin Jarvis (.450 avg.) to set up a possible force play with Hahn at the plate.

However, Hahn lined a 1-1 fastball down the left-field line to score courtesy runner Shane Larkin without a throw and clinch the division title.

"It definitely motivated me that they'd pitch around (Jarvis) to get to me," Hahn said. "I just wanted to get a good pitch, put it in play and get the game-winning hit."

It was far from the Rockets' best game of the season. Harvard jumped to a 5-0 lead with 2 runs in the first inning and 3 more in the third, helped in those rallies by 3 of Central's 4 errors.

The Rockets responded with a 3-run third inning, highlighted by a two-out, 2-run double by Jarvis (3-for-4). Central stormed to a 6-5 lead with a 3-run sixth. After junior Josh Ehlers doubled in a run, junior Drew Stover lined a 2-run double to right field against Harvard starter Chase Blazier to score Hahn and Ehlers.

"I was just going with the pitch," Stover said. "I generally like them low. I'm not a big outside pitch fan, but I went down after it and tried to do something for my team to keep us in the game."

The Hornets tied the game 6-6 in the seventh inning with another unearned run against Central starting pitcher Dave Hartwell. Hahn (8-0) relieved Hartwell in the eighth and faced only six hitters, helped by a 6-4-3 double play in the ninth.

Could the 2009 title signal the start of another run of championships for the young Rockets?

"We hope so, but you never know what could happen down the road," fourth-year coach Kyle Nelson said. "We try not to look that far. We have a lot we still want to accomplish this year. When this year's over we'll worry about next year and the year after."