Behind Dillon Maples, on the fence in left-centerfield when he pitches for Pinecrest, is a ball with the No. 9 on it, the same number he wears. It honors his father, Patriot Hall of Famer Tim Maples, who finished 12-2 in 1979 with 166 strikeouts.

Tim Maples averaged 2.08 strikeouts per inning that season. With 56 Ks in 27 2/3 innings, his son's average is 2.02. "I heard him up there (in the stands) a few times," Dillon Maples said of his biggest fan after Friday night's 4-1 victory over Richmond Senior.

Pinecrest coach Jeff Hewitt called Maples' three-hit, 15-strikeout performance one of his personal top three mound efforts in 10 years at the school. What was the coach's No. 1? "It was Seth Maness on a freezing night at Scotland against the No. 1 team in the state," he said. The Patriots won that 2006 game 2-1 with Maness (ECU), picking up the win and Eric Shinn (Ohio State) recording a save. That was also the Patriots 100th win with Hewitt as the coach.

Another question: When was the last time you saw the hidden ball trick pulled off?

Maples was victimized on Friday after leading off the bottom of the sixth inning with a double.

The large crowd at John Williams Field was full of former Patriot baseball players, including Chais Beloso, Lawson Thomas, Zach Pickard, Steve Melone, Anthony Perry, Michael and Mario Messana, John Newton and Ryan Riggan.

Through 18 games, Pinecrest pitchers have a combined ERA of 1.81 and have held opposing hitters to a batting average of .169. Patriot lead-off batter Andrew MacDonald reached base three times on two hits and a walk, raising his batting average to .418 and his on base average to .515.