St. Pauls defeated East Bladen 14-8 Wednesday night in non-conference baseball action.
The Bulldogs bunched a trio of hits to score a first-inning run.
The Eagles answered with 3 runs in the home first. Sophmore Shy Pone smacked a single to centerfield, and junior Sincere Smith was hit by a pitch. Senior Kyle Tatum walloped a triple to leftfield that drove in Pone and Smith. Junior Ty Watkins knocked in Tatum with a single to right-centerfield.
St. Pauls trimmed the lead to 3-2 as Michael Bullard’s double plated a second inning run.
In the Eagle second, Smith was hit by a pitch, stole second and third base then scored on an error as Kyle Tatum reached base for a 4-2 East lead.
Dawson Caulder’s 2-run triple keyed a 4-run third that vaulted the Bulldogs in front 6-4. Hits by Trevan Locklear and Conner Harris sparked a 4-run fourth inning that boosted the St. Pauls lead to 10-4.
East Bladen rallied with 4 runs in the fourth inning. Sophmore Dan Tatum reached base on an error, moved up on a fielder’s choice and darted home on Smith’s single to centerfield. Smith stole second and third base and scored when Kyle Tatum ripped a double to left.
Watkins reached base on an error, and junior Xavier Wooten launched a sacrifice fly to rightfield that scored Kyle Tatum. Junior Quinton Bedsole hammered a triple to left-centerfield that brought home Watkins and whittled the lead to 10-8.
Brad Locklear’s sixth-inning double padded the Bulldog lead to 11-8, and doubles by Jacob Oxendine and Ted McNeill in the seventh inning helped grow the final margin to 14-8.
Pone started and worked the first 3.1 innings on the mound giving up 11 hits, 4 walks and 10 runs while striking out four. Smith relieved and pitched the final 3.2 innings allowing 4 runs on 2 walks and 6 hits while striking out three.
Kyle Tatum batted 2-4 with a double, a triple, 4 runs batted in and 2 runs scored to lead the Eagle hitters. Sophmore Greyson Heustess also batted 2-4. Bedsole smashed an rbi triple.
Pone, Smith and Watkins added one hit each. Smith scored 3 runs, and Pone, Watkins and Dan Tatum scored one run each. Smith, Wooten and Watkins had one rbi each.
Caulder was the winning pitcher and drove in 4 runs with a 2-4 performance. Harris was 2-5 with 3 rbi’s. Brad Locklear batted 3-3 with an rbi. The Bulldogs racked up 17 hits in the game.
The Eagles, now 1-2, will host Midway Friday at 7 p.m. in their Four County Conference opener.
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