Early runs, King’s pitching lead Calhoun past rival Phoenix
drew a leadoff walk and later came home to score on a sacrifice fly by Davis Allen. Brett Potts crossed home for the second run on a wild pitch after he reached on a hit-by-pitch earlier in the inning.
Calhoun starter Ben King used the early advantage to gain confidence, and the junior controlled the lineup for Sonoraville (6-12, 2-9) for much of the game. He earned the win by pitching 6 1-3 innings and giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out nine.
“Ben was crisp out of the gate tonight,” said Calhoun coach Chip Henderson. “Sonoraville got a few hits and put some runners on at different spots in the game, but Ben was able to make some big pitches and get out of jams. He pitched well tonight. He got his pitch count up late in the game, but that’s a tribute to Sonoraville’s hitters, battling and making every at-bat difficult. But Ben made pitches when he needed to, and our defense played well behind him.”
The contest stayed close for much of the night as it remained 2-0 until the bottom of the fifth with Sonoraville starter Avery Hopper matching King inning for inning after the early Calhoun runs. The Jackets were able to bust it open in the fifth, however, as they pushed across six runs to take an 8-0 lead. Big hits in the inning came from Allen with an RBI-double and Payton Morrow and Kemp with back-to-back RBI-singles. Potts added a sac fly for another RBI.
In all offensively, King finished with two hits, including a double, for Calhoun, and Allen had a double, two RBIs and a run scored to lead the way. Morrow reached base twice with a hit and a hit-by-pitch to go along with his RBI, and Kemp was 1-for-2 with an RBI, two runs scored, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in the leadoff spot. Mathew Williams and Joshua Tolson also had a hit apiece and Potts had an RBI and a run scored while Parker McPherson reached base twice (walk, hit-by-pitch) and scored a run.
Henderson said he was pleased with the way his team capitalized in the fifth, but he said they still left too many runners on in possible scoring situations earlier in the game.
“You can’t squander scoring opportunities like we did tonight,” said Henderson. ‘We got some big two-out hits and were able to push several runs across in the fifth, but we’ve still got to have better approaches at different points in the game and we would’ve been up bigger earlier. We’ve got to cut down on our strikeouts going forward and not leave so many runners out there. Once you get a lead, you have to keep adding on and take advantage of your chances.”
Hopper took the tough-luck loss despite some solid work on the mound for the Phoenix. He went four-plus innings and gave up three runs on three hits while striking out four. Jacob Cornette was strong in relief as he pitched 1 2-3 innings and didn’t allow a hit while striking out two.
Offensively, Hopper led the Phoenix with a 3-for-4 day, including a double and a run scored. Matthew Vincent contributed a hit and an RBI, and Beau Bullard had a double. Grant Hegwood and Wyatt Castoe also had hits, and Chase Kirby drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in one run.
Despite being down 8-0 entering the final inning, Sonoraville continued to fight and loaded the bases.