PREP BASEBALL: Trinity tops St. James; Lee wins fifth straight
Trinity’s Simmons Byrd goes to third as Carter Carroll gathers the throw in the Wildcats win on Monday. (Tim Gayle)
COMBINED REPORTS
St. James got a pair of unearned runs early to take a lead over arch rival Trinity, but players were left in scoring position in two of the first three innings, something St. James coach Keith Lucky would reflect on after the Wildcats rallied for a 6-2 win.
“We played five good innings and two bad ones,” Lucky said. “We had some balls that didn’t go our way, a couple of errors and when you do that, you can’t beat a good team.
“In games this year, we’ve hit the baseball and put runners in scoring position, but we’re not two-out hitting. We had our opportunities and struck out today. We did it twice with runners on third base. You can’t do that.”
Both teams, wary of a full schedule the rest of the week, pitched multiple pitchers in Monday’s battle. For the Trojans, that meant Cooper Wright, Clint Shores and Foster Rasmussen would take the mound, with Wright leaving after the third inning with a one-hitter and a 2-0 lead.
“We had that planned going in because we’ve got area play on Thursday and Friday,” Lucky said. “Cooper was wheeling and dealing the first couple of innings and I hated to pull him out.”
Simmons Byrd drew a leadoff walk from Shores to open the fourth, advanced to third on a double by Grayson Ashe and scored on Ben Easterling’s sacrifice fly to cut the Trojan lead in half. Mac McClinton followed with a bloop single and Wesley Stallings reached on a throwing error that allowed Ashe to score and tie the game.
Jordan Jenkins followed with an RBI double and the Wildcats now led 3-2.
The fifth inning brought more of the same fielding struggles for the Trojans as back-to-back bunts resulted in throwing errors that plated another run and put two more runners on base. A sacrifice fly by Easterling and an RBI single by McClinton made it 6-2.
That was more than enough for Coleman Stanley, who allowed just three hits in the final four innings. A pair of errors by the Wildcats in the first and third innings pushed across unearned runs on starter Grayson Ashe, but the Wildcats played error-free ball the rest of the way and Stanley did the rest.
“Grayson is a guy that can pitch for us and get guys out but he’s vital behind the plate (at catcher) so we’re still working through what his role is going to be,” Trinity coach Jarrod Cook said. “Coleman came in and threw with a lot of confidence. He was the guy today that we know we have. He stepped up really big for us today and really found who he was again.”
St. James managed just four hits -- a triple by Ethan Beard and singles by Shores, Rasmussen and Ariel July.
Trinity had just five hits, with McClinton getting two, Ashe and Jenkins recording doubles and Easterling reaching base on a single off the third baseman’s glove.
Trinity (8-1) was scheduled to play Reeltown at home on Tuesday, but will push that 3:30 p.m. start to Wednesday with the threat of inclement weather on Tuesday. St. James (7-3) will play host to LAMP in a Thursday afternoon game at home in the area opener for both teams before moving to Paterson Field for a Friday doubleheader.
R.E. Lee 19, Brew Tech 6
The Generals improved to 10-6 for the season with their fifth straight win on Monday.
Darryl Dees was 2-for-4 while Jerald Bonner had three wals and added a two-run single. Keishaun McDaniel 1 for 4 with four runs driven in. James Sanders had a grand slam to bust the game open in the sixth. It was his first career home run. He got the win on the mound, pitching six innings giving up two earned runs while striking out five to improve to 3-1.
Lee will host Elmore county on Thursday at 4:30 at Paterson Field.
Macon East Academy 12, Hooper Academy 0 (5)
CECIL -- Bryant Rascoll and Jason Tatum combined on a one-hitter as the Knights defeated the Colts 12-0 in a game halted by the mercy rule on Monday.
Jabe Boroff went 2 for 3 at the plate for Macon East with a double and a triple, driving in three runs. Luke Noffsinger went 1 for 2 with a pair of walks, along with two RBIs. Matthew Kitchens, Dalton Nickles, Rascoll and Deonte Powell each finished with one RBI.
Meanwhile, Rascoll allowed just one hit in four innings of work, striking out eight and walking none. Tatum came in to pitch the fifth and struck out the side to end the game.
Macon East (16-2) will host its annual Macon East Tournament on Thursday-Saturday.