Pepperell, Coosa win first region matchups
Pepperell and Coosa opened Region 7-A Division I play exactly how they drew it up by earning road victories Tuesday.
The Dragons (6-4, 1-0) took down Darlington 11-0 in five innings, while Coosa (3-5, 1-0) pulled out a 4-2 win at Trion thanks to a big fifth inning.
In Pepperell’s win over Darlington (5-6, 0-1), the Dragons scored three in the top of the second inning and one in the fourth to build a lead before blowing the game open with a seven-run fifth.
Seven Pepperell players recorded hits, led by JP Kilgo’s 2-for-4 effort with two RBIS. Ryan Ely and Blake Floyd each had a double and an RBI, while Kaleb Davis added a hit and two RBIS.
Layton Sanford and Hunter Godfrey each contributed a hit and an RBI, Sam Ross drove in a run and Gage Owens had a hit and scored two runs.
Sanford got the win on the mound by pitching five scoreless for the shortened complete game as he allowed just three hits while striking out seven and walking four.
Darlington’s Tommy Bethel, Talan Shirey and Myles Twyman had the only three hits for the Tigers.
The two teams were back at it at Pepperell on Wednesday and will conclude the series at 1 p.m. Saturday at Darlington.
In Coosa’s win at Trion, it trailed 1-0 after four innings before rallying for four in the fifth, which proved to be enough for the victory. Gavin East pitched a complete game for the win, going seven innings and allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
East helped his own cause at the plate with two hits and a run scored. Ryan Smith had a double and drove in two runs, while Pacey Smith also had a hit and an RBI. Andrew Holt contributed a double and scored a run, and Cord Youngblood drove in a run as well.
Coosa hosted Trion on Wednesday in the second game of the series and will travel to Trion on Friday at 5 p.m. to wrap up the series.
Model 14, Heard County 1
The Devils built a huge lead early to set the tone for a run rule-shortened road win in non-region play Tuesday.
Model (6-3) scored five in the first inning and four in the second before adding five more over the fourth and fifth to force the mercy rule.
At the plate, Reece Grodeman and Drake Swiger each drove in three runs, with Swiger having a double among two hits. Jace Armstrong added a double, three walks, an RBI and three runs scored, while Brant Pace had a hit, an RBI and three runs scored.
Cooper Dean chipped in with a hit and an RBI, with Hudson Latimer and Jared Terhune each drawing a walk and scoring two runs.
Chance Minshew pitched five scoreless innings for the shortened completegame win as he allowed one unearned run on two hits with five strikeouts.
Model will host Armuchee on Friday at 6 p.m. in another non-region contest.
Temple 5, Armuchee 4
The Indians rallied to tie the game after six innings but a seventh-inning run by Temple sent Armuchee to a tough non-region loss on the road.
Armuchee (6-4) scored two in the top of the first to take an early lead, but Temple rallied for four in the bottom of the third. After Armuchee evened the game with two in the top of the sixth, Temple then plated one in the seventh to walk it off.
Blake Mathis led the Indians’ bats with two hits, including a double, to go with two RBIS. Like Lively also had a double and scored a run, while Chandler Desanto added a hit and an RBI. Jackson Coonley chipped in with a hit, a walk and a run scored.
Lively went the distance for Armuchee on the mound as he took the loss after 6 1/3 innings of work, allowing five unearned runs on six hits with seven strikeouts.
Armuchee will next visit Model on Friday at 6 p.m. for a non-region test.