Teams have not fared well against the Alvord High School baseball team when Asa Hand is on the mound. The standout pitcher has not lost a game through one month of the season and has made things easy at times.

He took the hill Thursday night in a crucial District 9-2A clash at Chico. The Dragons were unable to touch Hand as he threw five innings and allowed just three hits in leading Alvord to a 9-4 win in Chico. Colton Archa threw the final two innings to preserve the lead.

Hand, who is now 4-0 on the year, was in a class of his own. He struck out 14 batters, scattered three walks and threw 64 strikes in 104 pitches.

That was more than enough for Alvord to get the win. However, his teammates gave him plenty of offensive support with eight hits, three of which fell for extra bases. The group also benefited from four Chico errors which kept three innings alive.

The Dragons, who were led by Seth Woods, Kyler Hale and Rush Porter, were silent until the last inning. They trailed 9-1 before scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to make things a little closer. They were also aided by three AHS errors on the night.

The Bulldogs were led by slugger Colton Oldham, a powerful hitter who was recently selected to play this summer for a traveling showcase elite baseball team. He crushed a triple and a double while knocking in a pair of runs.

Ross Houston also had a pair of hits including two RBIs and a stolen base. Trevor Hahn scattered a pair of singles as well to give the offense more life.

The Bulldogs did more than hit the ball and get solid pitching. They also played some defense as standout Shane Watkins turned a double play in each of the last two innings.

Watkins, Alvord's second baseman, caught a sixth-inning pop-up and then threw a runner out at first base where Kendall Nivens made the tag. Watkins in the seventh inning tagged a runner out at second and made the throw to first where Dustin Stachowiak turned the second double play in 20 minutes.