By Sonny Jones
ELIZABETHTOWN — Debo Lewis drove home three runs with a pair of hits and combined with Braylon Cromartie to pitch a two-hitter Tuesday as the East Bladen junior varsity baseball team opened its season with a 15-1 trouncing of South Columbus at Russell Priest Field.
Lewis struck out three, walked two, yielded a hit and allowed an unearned run in the first two innings. Cromartie struck out two, walked one and gave up a hit in his two innings of a game that stopped because of the 10-run rule.
The Eagles collected 12 hits, stole seven bases and took advantage of six wild pitches and three errors to score their runs in only three innings.
After spotting the Stallions a run in the top of the first, East Bladen used a lead-off single by Zach Sholar, consecutive run-producing doubles by Lewis and Cole Butler and a two-run single down the left field line by Andrew Musselwhite for a 4-1 lead.
The Eagles sent 13 batters to the plate and scored eight runs in the second inning. Lewis, Isaiah Lee and Aiden Hargrove had run-scoring singles. East Bladen took advantage of three South Columbus errors, three walks and three wild pitches in opening a 12-1 lead.
In the third, East Bladen loaded the bases on a double by Musselwhite, a walk to Hargrove and a single by Cromartie. Musselwhite scored on a wild pitch. After a walk to Easton Bostic reloaded the bases, Sholar drew a walk that plated Hargrove. Lewis then launched a sacrifice fly to left that scored Cromartie.
Sholar, Lewis, Butler and Musselwhite each had two hits for East Bladen. Lee, Hargrove, Cromartie and Bostic each had a hit. Sholar scored three times while Lewis, Butler, Lee, Musselwhite and Hargrove each scored twice.
East Bladen, 1-0, is scheduled to play at South Brunswick on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
South Columbus 100 0 — 1- 2-3
East Bladen 483 x — 15-12-2
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