Stone shuts down Tides, takes over as ace for Rogers

In a patchwork effort toward finding an ace on the pitching staff, the Rogers High baseball team just might have found one in Jacob Stone after the right-hander shutdown Narrows League foe Gig Harbor on Friday night.

In a frigid game under the lights of Heritage Field, Stone stood tall facing Gig Harbor (2-3), as the Rams came away with a 3-0 shutout victory.

The win moves Rogers to 3-3 on the season.

“I felt good out there tonight, and I was able to locate my fastball where I needed it,” Stone said. “And I was able to work in my curveball and changeup.”

Stone was able to quiet the Tides’ bats while allowing the Rams to chip away at the Gig Harbor pitching staff.

“I would go to my change-up first or my curve — kind of keep them off-balance, then work with my fastball,” Stone said.

Stone finished with a complete game shutout while striking out four — including striking out the side in the top of the seventh inning.

“It’s early, it’s cold, but if he was going to go through much more, that was his last hitter,” Rogers coach Matt Whitehead said of Stone’s final out. “He got stronger as the game went on. Right now, if I had to pick a No. 1, he’s our No. 1.”

Rogers got on the board in the third when Kolby Force lined a single to left field. A steal of second and third later, Force was on third for Jorge Lopez, who grounded into a fielder’s choice to short, allowing Force to score and giving the Rams the 1-0 lead.

With one out and runners at second and third, Blake Denning roped a single to left-center that pushed Rogers’ lead to 3-0.

Stone finished the rest.

“It was a good win for us tonight, and Gig Harbor’s a good team,” Stone said. “We had to work for everything tonight.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Stone shuts down Tides, takes over as ace for Rogers."