Exeter Express

By Mac Christie, Times-Advocate Staff

EXETER – The Exeter Express swept a doubleheader over the Strathroy Royals Friday night at Alvin Willert Field.

In Game One the Express were again paced by strong starting pitching as Derek Masse allowed three singles, three walks and struck out six in a complete game victory. “Derek keeps getting better,” Express manager Doug Fairbairn said of Masse’s performance.

Offensively the Express were paced by Chris Pfaff, who collected a single and a double and Conrad Julien, who added two singles. Ryan Darling and Chris Gosnell added singles. “We didn’t have a lot of hits,” Fairbairn summed up, “but we had some clutch hits.” “Shutting out Strathroy is no small feat,” Fairbairn concluded. “They have averaged seven runs per game offensively.” In the nightcap Exeter clawed back for a 6-5 win.

Dan Masse started for the Express in his first action of the season. He allowed three singles, a double and a home run to go along with two walks. Masse struck out three and gave up five runs, three of them earned, in three innings of work. “Due to work commitments this was Dan’s first time on the mound this year,” Fairbairn explained. “Taking into consideration how well Strathroy hits the ball, Dan threw pretty well.”

Terry Hogg came on in relief and allowed a single, a double and a walk the rest of the way. He struck out three in four innings of work to earn the win. “For the second time in the last three games Terry Hogg came on in relief and shut the opposition down,” Fairbairn said. “It’s been a couple of years since Terry has thrown this well. “Since you can never have enough pitching, this is exactly what we need.”

Pfaff again paced the offense with two singles and a double, while Aaron Patterson added two singles. Mitch Masse added a single and a double and Taylor Patterson, Chris Gosnell and Ryan Darling added base hits. “We came back from being down 5-2 in the fourth inning,” Fairbairn said. “This is a great comeback win for us.”

The wins allowed the Express to leapfrog Strathroy in the Southwestern Senior Baseball League standings. Exeter now sits in first place with a 14-2 record.

The Express are next in action Friday night when they host the Ilderton Red Army at 7:30 p.m. at Alvin Willert Field.