By Darrell Moody

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MINDEN -- It was about as flawless a game as the Douglas American Legion team has played all summer.


The Tigers' offense hammered out 12 hits to back Brandon Huff's six-hit pitching, and the defense didn't make an error in a 12-2 five-inning win over the Sun Devils Wednesday afternoon at Douglas High.


The win upped Douglas' record to 11-4, and put a smile on coach John Glover's face.


"This was against a very good baseball team," Glover said. "We'll take it and run. They made a few mistakes, and we took advantage of them, which is something we haven't done in the past.


"I didn't know what to expect because of our younger players. I'm pleased with our progress. We still have to get a lot better."


Glover would be hard-pressed to get better offensive production out of his team. The Tigers have been averaging around nine or 10 hits a game, and against the Sun Devils they came out swinging.


With the score tied at 1, Douglas exploded for nine second-inning runs and seven hits off Ken Snow.


Jake Stratton reached on an error, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on Kyle Luken's single to left. Jimmy Pierce followed with a single, scoring Stratton. Chip Walling's single loaded the bases, setting the stage for Luke Rippee.


Rippee fell behind quickly 0-2, but eventually worked the count to 3-2. He laced Snow's full-count offering to right-centerfield, scoring Luken and Pierce to make it 3-0. Jeff Young singled home Walling, Rippee moving to third.


A run-scoring single by Bryan Miller and a walk to Huff loaded the bases. Chris Honer followed with a sacrifice fly for a 7-1 lead. Stratton doubled home Miller, Huff taking third on the run-scoring hit. Luken hit a sacrifice fly to center that actually scored two runs when the centerfielder's relay throw went awry.


The barrage was more than enough support for Huff, who went the full five innings. He struck out four and walked two.


"He threw a lot of strikes," Glover said. "He did a good job out there."


Pierce's run-scoring single in the fourth made it 11-2, and Miller ended the game with a single in the fifth.