LAKE WACCAMAW – East Columbus exploded for 8 runs in the 1st inning then held off West Bladen to escape with a 10-6 Three Rivers Conference junior varsity baseball victory over the Knights Thursday.
The Gators bunched 3 errors, 5 walks and singles by L. Coyle and J. Stewart to take an 8-0 lead. Coyle belted another single and scored a run in the 2nd inning as the lead grew to 9-0.
Freshman Andre Moore drew a lead-off walk in the Knight 3rd inning, stole 2nd and 3rd bases then scored on freshman Cornelius Esters’ ground-out to whittle the East lead to 9-1.
Stewart slammed a double to left in the Gator 3rd inning to drive in a run and up the count to 10-1. Stewart finished 2-3 at the plate with the run-scoring double. Coyle also batted 2-3 for East with 2 runs scored and a run-batted-in.
West Bladen rallied with 5 runs in the 4th inning. Freshman Jamarh Richardson spanked a single to right field. Freshman Jordan Hester swatted a single over shortstop, and sophomore Aaron Wren was hit by a pitch. Richardson raced home on a wild pitch.
Moore sliced a single to left that brought home Hester and Wren. Sophomore Jordan Underwood ripped a single to left that scored Moore. Esters reached base on an error, and sophomore Wadeyn Norris knocked in Underwood with a single to right that trimmed the Gator lead to 10-6.
Moore cracked the 2-run single and scored twice to lead the Knight attack. Underwood singled home a run and scored a run. Richardson and Hester both singled and scored runs. Norris drove in a run with a single. Esters drove in a run, and Wren scored a run.
Wren pitched 3 innings and allowed 10 runs but only 1 of the runs was earned. He allowed 4 hits and 8 walks while striking out three. M. Tripp, J. Wagner and C. Watts shared the pitching duties for East Columbus.
The Knights, now 1-2 in TRC play and 3-4 overall, will travel to Whiteville on May 28th.
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