TEACHEY – Junior Xavier Wooten pitched 5 strong innings to lead East Bladen to a 9-4 Four County Conference baseball victory over Wallace-Rose Hill Thursday night.
Wooten worked the first 5 innings and allowed only one run on 2 hits and 6 walks while striking out five. Sophomore Shy Pone started the sixth on the mound for the Eagles but an error and 3 walks plated a Bulldog run and loaded the bases.
Lefthander Ty Watkins relieved Pone and worked out of the inning with a pair of ground balls aided by a double play from second baseman Quinton Bedsole to shortstop Sincere Smith to first baseman Pone.
Watkins gave up an unearned run on a walk and an error before striking out the next 3 batters to end the game.
Senior Kyle Tatum ignited an Eagle rally in the first inning with a 2-out single. Wooten drew a walk, and Watkins walloped a 2-run double that scored both runners for a 2-0 East lead.
Sophmore Greyson Heustess and junior Deondre Newkirk started the Eagle second inning with back-to-back singles. Pone walked to load the bases, and Smith knocked in Heustess and Newkirk with a single that padded the lead to 4-0.
Wooten blasted a triple to begin the Eagle third inning, and Watkins hammered a double that scored Wooten. After Bedsole walked, junior Brooks McGill lofted a sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Watkins. Newkirk connected for a 2-out single that brought home Bedsole for a 7-0 lead.
After the Bulldogs whittled the margin to 7-1, the Eagles tacked on 2 more runs in the fifth. Bedsole walked, and McGill slammed a double. Newkirk was hit by a pitch, and Pone’s fielder’s choice plated McGill for a 9-1 lead.
The Bulldogs pushed across the 3 unearned runs in the final 2 innings to narrow the gap. Senior Josh Cavanaugh collected the only 2 hits for Wallace-Rose Hill. Kobe Vann started on the mound and took the loss for the Bulldogs.
McGill batted 2-3 with a double, a run batted in and a run scored to lead the 13-hit Eagle attack. Newkirk finished 2-3 with an rbi and a run scored. Watkins slugged 2 doubles, knocked in 3 runs and scored a run.
Heustess batted 2-4 with a run scored. Wooten crushed a triple and scored twice. Bedsole singled and scored twice. Smith cracked a 2-run single, Pone singled in a run, and Kyle Tatum singled and scored a run.
Coach Russell Priest’s Eagles improved to 3-1 in the Four County and 4-3 overall. East Bladen will host Union at 7:00 Tuesday night.
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