Urbana Steals Bases And A Win Against Kenwood, Secures Spot In Quarterfinals

TIMONIUM, Md. -- After four days of rainy weather, game cancellations and unplayable field conditions, the Urbana Hawks boys baseball team got their chance to play May 20 and simply decided they didn't want to stop, taking the 5-3 win against the Kenwood Blue Birds.

The Hawks, riding the momentum of the day after closing a win against Dulaney earlier in the morning, opened up with a three-run first inning against Kenwood senior Shane Campbell. Campbell, who will play for the University of Maryland next year, seemed to struggle with his control in the first inning, resulting in four walks and one hit before he could retire the side. By then, the damage was done and Urbana took advantage of their speed, stealing multiple bases outright and several others off fielding errors.

Stolen bases were commonplace for Urbana throughout the game. When asked about the 15 total Urbana stole, Hawks coach Mike Frownfelter said, "In pregame, we looked at how strong their catcher's arm was. We saw a weakness and took advantage of it."

Kenwood countered Urbana's first-inning onslaught, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first to keep within striking distance. Over the next two innings, Campbell, who finished the game with 11 strikeouts, regained his ball control and was almost perfect over the next two innings, striking out four of six batters and grounding out the other two. Kenwood capitalized on his performance, evening the score in the bottom of the third with a walk-in run. 

That was the last run the Hawks Jeff Bynaker would surrender to Kenwood. Bynaker made the most of this opportunity, using it to finish his first complete game of the season.  The senior pitcher, who had six strikeouts for the game, allowed his team to do a lot of the defense for him, earning him high praise from his coach. 

"We just needed him to throw strikes," Frownfelter said. "Three games in two days, we just needed someone to eat up innings and Jeff did a great job of that."

Bynaker was also responsible for the Hawks final two runs, driving in one and then stealing home off an infield error in the fourth inning to help to lead the Hawks to victory.

Blue Birds coach Don Keener said there were no surprises in Urbana's style of play. 

"We were pretty prepared. We just didn't hit the ball," he said. "We had a chance to break this open or at least get the lead. There were just too many walks, four or five runs were walks.

"It's just a tough way to lose, but we fought them to the end. They're not a bad team."

Earlier in the day, the Hawks, who finished the season with a 6-12 record, defeated the 14-4 Dulaney Lions, 2-0, in a 10-inning game to advance to the third round of the Maryland 4A Boys Baseball Championships, setting them up for the matchup against Kenwood. 

Urbana will try to prove they are more than their record in the semifinals May 21, where they play the winner of Westminster v. Thomas Johnson.

Bulls Withstand Heat, Still Running Around in Miami's China Shop.

CHICAGO -- The rumors of the Bulls' demise may have been premature.

Going into Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, many critics gave the Chicago Bulls little chance to win the series. Most said they would be swept or only win one game, if only by some type of luck. But the Bulls had other plans Sunday, serving notice to the Miami Heat with a 103-82 drubbing. The message in the notice was simple: You've won nothing and this will not be easy.

The Bulls dismantled the Heat in Game 1 behind 28 points from Derrick Rose and a superb defensive effort by Luol Deng on LeBron James. The win gives the Bulls a 1-0 series lead with Game 2 coming up May 18. The Bulls, who swept the Heat in the regular season, will look to maintain their home court advantage in the playoffs with a win Wednesday.

How will they do it? With the same formula as Game 1: attack the offensive glass, plenty of man-to-man switching and a gritty, hard-nosed defense that has been the staple of any defense Tom Thibodeau is part of. In Game 1, Johkim Noah and Carlos Boozer wreaked havoc in the paint on the offenisive glass, providing the Bulls with plenty of second-chance opportunities. The two also provided great help defensively, while also providing some much-needed scoring.

The Bulls "Bench Mob," as they like to be called, also provided a spark by extending the lead and playing lock-down defense. But the plays that may have blown the lid off the game were two monster dunks by Taj Gibson late in the game. The Bulls, behind the energy of Gibson's two-handed slam and put-back tomahawk, gained a momentum the Heat would never overcome to finish out the game.

Miami's Chris Bosh had 30 points in the game, but it was not indicative of the defense being played on him or the rest of his team. Bosh was the option Chicago wanted Miami to use, and use it they did. As much as they feed Bosh, he was only capable of carrying the Heat so far without the help of Miami's two true stars in James and Dwyane Wade.

It may only be one game and one win for the Bulls, but in the scheme of things, it's really four games for the entire season. Four games that displayed a defense Miami cannot elude. Four games where the idea of a true team won over the idea of three self-entitled superstars. Four games where we saw the defense we expected from the Boston Celtics in the playoffs come shining through in the form of the Chicago Bulls. It's four games where the insecurities and self-doubt the Heat displayed early in the season has a chance to surface again. This time when it matters most.

One game can make a difference. One game can create doubt. One game can remind players there were three others they couldn't win as well. In that case, one game can really be four.

And that's just how these Bulls like it.