Chandler Whitfield blooped a single over a drawn-in East Bladen infield that drove in Byran Tyndall with the game-winning run as Clinton scored 4 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to edge the visiting Eagles 6-5 Friday night in Four County Conference baseball action.
The Eagles carried a 5-2 lead into the home seventh, but Wade Sumner started the rally with a single, but an error on Bailey Spell’s potential double play grounder kept the inning going.
Kris Royal’s single loaded the bases, and Tyndall was hit by a pitch to force in Sumner. Senior Grant Naylor walked to force home Spell. Tyler Johnson was then hit by a pitch to force home Royal with the tying run and set up Whitfield’s heroics.
“We were up 5-2 in the seventh and the wheels just jumped off,” said Eagle Assistant Coach Robby Priest.
Clinton ace Jonathan Wright picked up the win with his late relief help in support of Royal and Spell. Junior right-hander Alex Coates went the distance on the hill for the Eagles, striking out 2, hitting 4 and walking two.
Senior Colby Hester belted a first-inning for the Eagles, moved up on a passed ball and raced home on Matthew Massengill’s single.
The Dark Horses bunched singles from Whitfield, Wright and Sumner to produce a run and tie the score.
Massengill led off the Eagle fourth inning with a walk, and junior Nikita Owens cracked a single to send him to third base. Freshman McKinley Raynor’s ground ball plated Massengill with a go-ahead run.
Freshman Sincere Smith, Hester, and sophmore Kyle Tatum all reached base for the Eagles with one-out in the fifth. Massengill’s sacrifice brought home Smith, and Coates reached base, before Owens smashed the double that put East Bladen ahead 5-1.
Sumner blasted a lead-off triple in the bottom of the fifth and scored to close the gap to 5-2.
Owens batted 2-3 with a double and a run-batted-in for the Eagles. Hester finished 2-4 at the plate for East with 2 runs scored. Massengill drove in 2 runs with his 1-2 game.
Tatum, Smith, freshman Ty Watkins and Coates added one hit each. Tatum and Smith scored one run each. Coates and Raynor collected one rbi each.
Royal batted 3-3 with a run scored for Clinton. Sumner finished 3-4 with a triple and 2 runs scored, and Whitfield batted 3-5 with the triple, run scored and the game-winning rbi.
The Eagles are now 3-6 in the league and 7-10 overall.
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