The win for the Trojans (21-2, 17-1 Region 7-AAA) gives them a two game lead in the standings and the tiebreaker edge in the event of a tie and puts their magic number to clinch the Region 7-AAA title at one with three games left in the season.
Mongero knows full well the difference between winning the region and finishing second.
"It's nice to have a little cushion and obviously we would love to have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs," he said. "But we still have work to do to make that happen. Our mentality is to focus on the next opponent and try to finish strong for the playoffs."
First on the agenda, however, may be deciding where to take Zach Mize for dinner. The senior second baseman had three hits, drove in a run, scored a run, and made three outstanding defensive plays that saved at least two runs.
"Zach played a whale of a game," Mongero said. "I thought we played great defense the entire game and Adam's catch was a great finish to a great game."
"I just knew I had to come in prepared and focused and just did what I could to help us get a win," Mize said.
The key play came in the fifth with runners at first and second and no outs for Buford and the Trojans leading 3-0. Mize ranged far to his right on a smash up the middle by Jake Higginbotham and corralled a bad hop to get the runner at second.
"It was just a reaction play and I was able to get the glove on it," Mize said. "That was a big out, no doubt."
Buford coach Tony Wolfe said defense was the key. His team committed two errors in the first inning that led to two unearned runs and were never able to recover.
"North Hall's defense was exceptional and that was the difference," he said. "We didn't play badly but North Hall just played excellent."
The Wolves (18-4, 15-3) could still win the region but would need to win out while the Trojans drop their remaining three games.
"That's not a likely scenario but our goal is to continue to get better and build momentum for the playoffs. You can't get down about losing a game like that to a team that good."
It was a rematch of outstanding southpaw hurlers in North Hall's Preston Graham and Buford's Higginbotham.
Graham got out of the first inning with some help from his defense as they turned a double play to end the inning after a one-out walk to Patrick Burnette.
The Trojans used that momentum to strike first. Mize stroked a one-out single to left, Griffin Olson walked, and then Colton Duttweiler reached on a catcher's interference to load the bases. Mize would score on an error on a slow roller by Adam Kelly and Olson would score on a fielder's choice by Lincoln Hewett for a 2-0 lead.
That was all Graham needed. He faced the minimum through the first four innings as the defense also turned a double play to end the third.
North Hall had chances to blow the game open early but stranded seven runners, six in scoring position. The Trojans did add a run in the fourth on an RBI single by Mize scoring McCoy Savage, who led off the inning with a walk. They made it 4-0 in the fifth on a pair of doubles, with Savage driving in Hewett with two outs.
Buford had a chance to cut into the lead in the fifth loading the bases with one out. But Mize's acrobatic stop behind second saved one run and Graham got Hunter Puckett and Ryan Bramlett to ground into fielder's choices to get out of the inning with no runs scored.
The Wolves finally got on the board with a home run by Austin Upshaw to lead off the sixth. Buford would get the tying run to the plate in the seventh on a leadoff walk to Jake Mayo and a one-out single by pinch-hitter Bayne Miller. But Kelly snuffed out the rally with a diving catch in center on a drive by pinch-hitter Dillon Satterfield to end the game.
Graham would go the distance for North Hall scattering four hits and striking out four.
Higginbotham also went the distance allowing seven hits and fanning two in six innings.
Upshaw, Josh Bryson, Mayo, and Miller each had one hit for the Wolves.
Andrew Smith, Duttweiler, Hewett, and Savage all had one hit for North Hall.
NOTES: The home team won all three games in the series with North Hall taking two wins by identical 4-1 scores. The Wolves won the second game 7-3 in Buford....The Trojans have won 10 straight since their loss to Buford....Buford saw its five-game win streak snapped.
North Hall's Zach Mize scores a run in the first inning for the Trojans. Mize had three hits and made three outstanding defensive plays to help lead North Hall to a 4-1 win Saturday over Buford.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/4/260719