East Bladen scored 2 runs in the top of the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie and give the Eagles a 6-5 victory in the nightcap of a Four County Conference baseball double-header Monday night after Heide Trask had won the first game 5-3.
Freshman McKinley Raynor drew a walk to begin the Eagle sixth inning. One-out later freshman Xavier Wooten walked and freshman Sincere Smith was hit by a pitch.
Raynor raced home with the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, and walks to senior Colby Hester and sophmore Kyle Tatum forced home Wooten with an insurance run.
Smith started on the mound for the Eagles and carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning with a 4-0 lead, but four straight hits and a walk plated a pair of Titan runs and kept the bases loaded with no outs.
Wooten came on in relief and worked out of the inning with two ground balls and a pop-up, but Trask scored the tying run on a wild pitch.
After the Eagles took the lead, Trask trimmed the margin to one in the bottom of the sixth on a 2-out error and freshman Miles Jordan’s triple down the rightfield line. Wooten retired the last batter on a foul pop to catcher Tatum.
Wooten pitched the final 3 innings to pick up the win. The young righthander allowed one unearned run on 2 hits and 2 walks, while striking out one.
Junior Nikita Owens walloped a one-out double over the leftfielder’s head in the Eagle second inning. After freshman Ty Watkins drew a 2-out walk, Wooten drilled a double to the fence in left-centerfield that drove in Owens and Watkins for a 2-0 East Bladen lead.
With one out in the Eagle third, Tatum and senior Matthew Massengill both reached base on Titan errors. Junior Alex Coates’ fielder’s choice plated Tatum, and Owens beat out an infield hit that scored Massengill and pushed the East lead to 4-0.
Owens batted 2-3 with the double, a run batted in and a run scored to lead the East hitters. Wooten slugged the 2-run triple and scored a run. Junior Ty McMillian slammed a double, and Hester added one single.
Trask grabbed a quick 3-0 lead in the first game as junior Tynaffit Davis hammered a triple that scored Dylan Kraft and Jordan Flora who had singled. Davis darted home on an error.
The Eagles answered with a run in the bottom of the first as Hester reached on a fielder’s choice, and Tatum slammed a run-scoring triple.
Owens belted a single in the second inning, advanced on an error and scored on Wooten’s fielder’s choice to trim the Titan lead to 3-2.
In the East Bladen third, Tatum ripped a triple into the leftfield corner and dashed home on a wild pitch to tie the game.
Trask regained the lead in the top of the fourth as Kobe Owsley blooped a double to leftfield. Jordan bounced a 2-out single over the bag at third to drive in Owsley.
Davis’ 2-out single plated another Titan run in the top of the fifth. Davis, Flora and freshman Robbie Patterson all batted 2-3 to lead the Trask hitters.
Flora pitched the first game for the Titans and allowed only 4 hits. Coates went the distance on the hill for the Eagles and gave up 9 hits.
Tatum batted a perfect 3-3 with 2 triples and a double, and 2 runs scored. Owens cracked a single for the other East Bladen hit and scored a run.
East Bladen is now 5-7 in league play and 9-11. The Eagles will entertain Wallace-Rose Hill tonight (Tuesday) for their Senior Night game at6:30.
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