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  • Danville Post 210’s Joe Pratt bunts the ball during Monday’s game against Urbana Post 71 at Danville Stadium. The Post 210 Speakers defeated Urbana 3-0. Susan Joy McKinney

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June 22, 2010

Casey Fletcher, Post 210 blanks Urbana

BY AARON PATTERSON CNHI

DANVILLE — After getting a glimpse of what Oakwood product Casey Fletcher was capable of on the mound, Danville Post 210 Speakers coach Adam Decker immediately gained confidence in the right-hander to put him up against just about any offense the Speakers faced.

But in reality, what Post 210 now knows is that there are few weak spots in this year’s rotation.

“I’ve never seen a pitching rotation like this,” Fletcher said. “Blake Janesky (from Danville), we’ve got (former Schlarman and current Danville Area Community College pitcher) Aaron Lewellyn. David Toth (Westville) is on the DL right now. But we have a very, very solid pitching lineup. It’s every other day somebody is coming out with their high school ace. And we have five aces on the team.”

It just happened to be Fletcher’s turn on the mound Monday when the Speakers faced Urbana Post 71. And there was little disappointment when his teammates and fans watched as he gave up only three hits and walked none in a 3-0 shutout at Danville Stadium.

Fletcher (3-1) tallied six strikeouts in six innings, and retired the last 10 batters he faced before lightning forced a delay and ultimately ended the game originally scheduled for nine innings.

“That’s a talented team,” Decker said of Urbana. “They have a lot of hitting on that team. He kept them off-balance like he normally does. He kept the ball down a little more today than he did against Mattoon (in his only loss of the season). I think he learned his lesson there.

“He has different looks up there and changes speeds. He can beat some people on the mound. He works quick, keeps his defense in it. He does a nice job out there.”

Urbana pitcher Cody Comstock held the Speakers without a hit through four innings until Joe Pratt led of the fifth with a triple down the right-field line.

Cash Kiser wasted no time, and on the first pitch of his at-bat doubled to the same spot, and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Zane Dillon.

The Speakers scored one more in the sixth when Tyler McKenzie crossed the plate on Comstock’s fifth wild pitch of the game.

“We just had to see him and get the timing down,” Pratt said. “He was quite a bit slower than we have seen lately.

“It was good to finally get the timing and get some runs in. We had a few runners on second and third in the first couple of innings, we just couldn’t get it through.”

Danville had three base runners prior to Pratt’s triple with two coming on errors by the middle infielders, and one hit batsman.

Pratt had two of the Speakers’ five hits, and McKenzie and Michael Grant each had one. McKenzie remains tied with Dabo Worthington for the Post 210 single-season home run record set in 2007.

McKenzie tied the mark with four home runs on Sunday against Toledo. One more will give him 14 for the season with just under 20 games remaining before postseason play begins.

The win was the second in a row for Danville, and 10th in the team’s last 12 games. Up next will be a doubleheader at Kansas today.

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