7/12/05 – Daily News Record

By DUSTIN DOPIRAK Daily News-Record WOODSTOCK – Scott Cousins took a fastball off his left hand and crumpled to the ground in pain. At that moment, it became clear that any victory the Harrisonburg Turks could manage Monday night at Central High School would be Pyrrhic. The Turks managed to defeat Woodstock 4-2 in a Valley League baseball game, thanks to a superb pitching performance from left-hander Brad Mills (Arizona) and despite Cousins’ first-inning departure. The Turks improved to 16-12 while the River Bandits fell to 10-18. However, the Turks found out they likely won’t see their star center fielder in the lineup again this year. Cousins, who was trying to lay down a bunt, broke his finger according to Turks manager Bob Wease, and will probably miss the rest of the season. "He’s gone for the year," Wease said. "Now we’ve lost the leading hitter in the Valley League. That’s not going to be very good for us. We’ve already got x-rays. He’s got a broken finger." Cousins, who plays at San Francisco University, was actually the second-leading hitter in the Valley League. He was batting .362 coming into Monday’s game, which put him six points behind Luray’s Daniel Murphy. But his bat accounted for only part of his value to the Turks. He was also an outstanding defensive center fielder and an effective pitcher for the Turks. He was taking it easy on the mound this season after pitching 95 innings in San Francisco, but he was 1-0 with a 3.00 earned run average in six innings and two appearances. "I don’t know what we’re going to do now," Wease said. "I’m going to have to get on the phone and get another center fielder. Of course his pitching and his bat is what is really going to hurt us. Doggone." The Turks managed to rally back from a 2-0 deficit without Cousins. Mills struggled early, allowing an RBI single to Woodstock designated hitter Matthew Hudgins in the second and another to catcher Brett Logan in the third. After an inning-ending double play got him out of a bases-loaded jam in the third, however, Mills struck out the side in the fourth and sixth. He finished with 10 strikeouts in seven innings while surrendering eight hits. The Turks’ bats came alive in the fifth. They scored runs on groundouts by second baseman Tony Thomas and shortstop Brett Munster to tie the game 2-2. In the sixth, after Lucas Delong led off with a triple, Jeff Carroll singled him home to give the Turks a 3-2 lead. Delong led off the eighth with a double and scored an insurance run on a single by Matt Denker. Harrisonburg 000 021 010 4 12 1 Woodstock 011 000 000 2 11 0 Mills, Wheeler (8), Fessler (8) and Denker. Selhorst, Dudley (8) and Logan. WP-Mills (3-0). LP-Selhorst (1-2) S-Fessler (9)