Arenac Eastern's Kyle White put the capper on Arenac Eastern's 17-0 victory over Akron-Fairgrove in the opener of Thursday's doubleheader with a three-run home run in a 15-run second inning.
Shane Stanley slides into third base with a triple.
Brent Baker
Brian Langstaff dances off first base as Akron-Fairgrove's pitcher keeps an eye out for a stolen base attempt.

ARENAC EASTERN - Mar. 29, 2007 - Arenac Eastern's baseball team put the trials and tribulations of other sports seasons behind them as the Eagles rolled to a pair of mercy victories over Akron-Fairgrove on Thursday, 17-0 and 18-3.

While Akron won't be close to the strongest opponent the Eagles will face this year, coach Mike Sanchez was pleased with his team's approach to Thursday's doubleheader.

"I think we looked pretty sharp for the first game," he said. "Our pitchers gave up only two walks for the day and our defense only had one error. In the second inning of the second game we made a couple of mental errors, but we called a time out and I think we were able to regain our focus and we played error-free baseball the rest of the way."

After scoring two runs in the first inning of the opener, the Eagles exploded for 15 runs in the second inning, highlighted by Shane Stanley's two-run triple and Kyle White's 300-plus foot home run well over the right field fence.

Brandon Trombley added two hits and Kenny Ziembo had a double and three RBIs.

Brian Langstaff only faced 10 batters in the three-inning game, walking one and striking out the remaining nine.

A-F took a 1-0 lead in the second game, but the Eagles piled on nine runs in the first inning, added four in the second, two in the third and finished it with three in the fourth for a 15-run margin.

"I liked how we came out strong to start the second game," Sanchez said. "In the past the boys have lost focus in the second game after having a fairly easy win in the first game.

"The kids needed a game like this to open the baseball season to gain some confidence after what have been very long football and basketball seasons. Hopefully this will jump-start us to a good season. We have some high expectations, not to just be competitive, but to win."

Thomas Klopf had three hits, including a double and four RBIs; Skyler Thacker had two hits and three RBIs; Ziembo added a hit and three RBIs and White had a hit and two RBIs. White earned the win on the mound, allowing five hits and two earned runs while walking one and striking out six.

The Eagles (2-0) return to action with a non-conference doubleheader at Alcona on April 12.