HOPE MILLS – West Bladen snapped a 3-3 tie with 4 runs in the final 2 innings and rode the relief pitching of junior Brady Durden to a 7-4 victory over tournament host South View in the South View Baseball Invitational Monday night.
Coach Wade Pait’s Knights improved to 5-6 and will battle Overhills (5-6) – a 10-3 loser to South Columbus Monday – at 4 p.m. Tuesday. South View (8-6) will host South Columbus at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
After South View tied the game 3-3, sophomore Hunter Hester scalded a single to center field, and senior Jahmar Richardson drew a 2-out walk in the Knight 6th inning. Junior Garrett Dunham raked a single to left field, and an error on the play scored Hunter Hester. Junior Allister Russ smoked a single to center that scored Richardson and padded the West lead to 5-3.
Junior Noah Shinn walked, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and scored when Koltyn Ziegler dumped a single into right field that narrowed the gap to 5-4 in the bottom of the 6th.
Senior Jordan Hester slammed a double to left field to begin the West 7th inning. Sophomore Josh Dawson and Hunter Hester walked, and Brady Durden belted a single to right field that plated Jordan Hester. Richardson drew a bases-loaded walk that forced home Will Durden, the courtesy runner for Dawson, and boosted the lead to 7-4.
Hunter Hester started on the mound for the Knights and pitched 4 innings allowing 3 runs – 2 earned – on 4 hits and 4 walks while striking out 6. Brady Durden worked 3 innings of relief and gave up a run on 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 1.
Hunter Hester batted 2-for-3 with a run batted in and a run scored to lead the West hitters. Junior Allister Russ finished 2-for-5 at the plate with a triple, an RBI and a run scored. Jordan Hester doubled, had an RBI and scored twice. Dunham, freshman Ashton Davis, Dawson and Brady Durden added 1 hit each. Davis, Brady Durden and Richardson had 1 RBI each. Davis, Richardson and Will Durden scored 1 run each.
Jordan Hester drew a 1-out walk in the West 2nd inning, and Dawson smacked a single to center field. Hunter Hester scorched a single to center that plated Jordan Hester for a 1-0 Knight lead.
Allister Russ crushed a triple to center field that began the Knight 3rd inning. Davis drilled a single to right that scored Russ then advanced to 2nd base on an error. After junior Cade Allen walked, Jordan Hester’s fielder’s choice plated Davis for a 3-0 West lead.
Sophomore Brayden Moncrief singled and advanced on an error in the Tiger 4th inning. Freshman Logan Read drove him in with the 1st Tiger run. Josh Pitts reached base on an error, and Brayden Barbour walked to start the South View 5th inning. Junior David Ramsey drove in Pitts with a single, and Barbour scored the tying run on an error.
Pitts doubled and scored a run for the Tigers. Ziegler, Ramsey and Read all singled and drove in runs. Shinn, Moncrief and Barbour scored 1 run each.
Ramsey pitched 5.2 innings for the Tigers and allowed 5 runs on 5 hits and 5 walks while striking out 4. Freshman Malachi Jones gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in 0.2 innings while striking out 1. Senior Chris Hair retired the only 2 batters that he faced.
West Bladen 012 002 2 — 7-9-3
South View 000 121 0 — 4-6-2
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