Baseball: Offense clicking for Shepard in win over Tinley Park

Updated: April 19, 2012 9:00PM

It’s no secret why Shepard has won seven of its last eight games: it’s offense.

The Astros scored at least 10 runs in each of those victories.

The latest victim was Tinley Park.

Matt Scott belted a two-run triple and Adam Samad drove in two runs to lead host Shepard to a 13-3 five-inning victory over Tinley Park on Thursday in a South Suburban crossover.

Ramsey Hamdan earned the win for the Astros (9-8, 6-3), allowing five hits and two walks and striking out four during a 77-pitch performance.

“Our bats are hot,” said Hamdan, a senior. “Everyone on the team is capable of contributing and is willing to do whatever it takes to win.”

The Titans (10-10, 3-5) greatly enhanced the Astros cause by committing six errors on the day. Shepard made sure to capitalize on Tinley Park’s mistakes.

The Astros grabbed a 3-0 lead after one inning. The Titans booted two ground balls, which led to one run crossing the plate, and Samad drove in another with a single to right. Matt Hoge’s RBI groundout made it 3-0.

The lead swelled to 7-0 after three innings. David Flynn drove home a run with a single and Scott crushed a first-pitch fastball from Zach Glowicki for a two-run triple. Christian Araiza’s sacrifice fly completed the scoring in the inning.

“It’s always nice to have a big lead like that early,” Hamdan said.

To Tinley Park’s credit, it scored three runs in the fourth to cut the deficit to 7-3. The big blows were an RBI double by Mitch Smith and two-run single by Brandon Stewart.

The Astros responded with six runs in the fifth. The combination of three Titans errors and four walks proved too costly to overcome.

“We’re a very athletic team, but we have a lot of guys who don’t know how to play baseball,” Shepard coach Frank DiFoggio said. “They’re learning that they have to have an approach at the plate and make adjustments. That’s been the key to our turnaround.”

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