7/11/2006 – Daily News Record

Daily News Record Written By Joe Lemire Generals Pitcher Dominates In 5-0 Win WAYNESBORO – Jon Dages was invited to join the Waynesboro Generals last year but declined manager Lawrence Nesselrodt’s offer. "I wasn’t ready to leave home yet," said Dages, an Indianapolis native. This summer has been a different story, as the only ones homesick at Waynesboro’s Kate Collins Field Monday were the Harrisonburg Turks, who failed to cross home plate in nine innings against Dages. The rising junior from Butler University threw a complete-game shutout, allowing just five hits and one walk while striking out four in a 5-0 win. The first-place Generals extended their lead over the Turks to four games in the Valley Baseball League’s Southern Division Dages got ahead early in the count by consistently throwing his fastball for a first-pitch strike and mixing in enough curve balls and split-fingered fastballs near the plate to induce 16 outs via ground balls. "That’s probably been one of my best outings in my college career," a smiling Dages said after the game. His manager had even higher praise of his right-hander’s efficient performance. "That’s as well a pitched game as I’ve seen in six years in the Valley League," Nesselrodt, a Petersburg, W.Va., native who coaches at West Virginia State, said. "You don’t often see a complete game, and he was only at 86 pitches. I don’t think we could have pried the ball out of his hand." The Turks (16-12) managed just five hits – led by shortstop Bobby Spain’s two singles – and were often the victim of strong defense from the Generals (20-8). A pair of double plays killed Harrisonburg threats. "A lot of this game is luck," Dages said. "They hit balls hard but right at fielders." Turks starter Matt Baugh wasn’t his usual self on the mound. Entering the game with a sub-2.00 ERA, Baugh gave up hits in bunches, allowing nine over six innings of work in losing his first decision of the summer. He recorded two 1-2-3 innings, but the Generals had multiple hits in three of his other four innings. With Waynesboro leading 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Chris Anninos singled followed by an RBI triple into the right-field corner from Ryan Cunningham – the only extra base hit of the game. "Good pitching and timely hitting spells success," Nesselrodt said. "We had a tough loss up there the other night, and the boys responded well." Harrisonburg manager Bob Wease didn’t even wait for a reporter’s question before offering his prognosis of the loss. "They caught us flat. … It’s hard to get up for baseball every night, and we weren’t mentally prepared for the game tonight. We’ve still won 16 of our last 22 games. That’s quite a feat in the Valley League." Harrisonburg 000 000 000 — 0 5 2 Waynesboro 101 002 10x — 5 12 0 Baugh, Wells (7), Vallen (8) and Harrigan; Dages and Hulett. W – Dages (2-0). L – Baugh (3-1).