Tiger baseball sweeps opening day

Published 11:01 pm Monday, February 20, 2012

The Demopolis Tigers (2-0) opened their 2012 season Monday with a double-header sweep of Hale County, scoring 12-0 and 12-1 victories.

The Tigers scored in every inning of both games Monday, tallying 24 runs on 12 hits and 11 walks while committing no errors on defense.

“That’s rare at the high school level,” Demopolis head coach Ben Ramer said of the Tigers’ error-free day. “We work a lot of defense everyday, but that still does not solve errors in a game.”

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Ramer attributed his team’s opening day success to sound work from the mound and the defensive unit.

“We pitched really well, stayed around the plate and we made plays,” he said. “Today was kind of a reflection of what we have done the last few weeks in inner-squad.”

Demopolis hung six runs over the first three innings of game one before posting a six spot in the fourth frame to give Devin Stroud the opportunity to close out the 12-0 win in the fifth via the 10-run rule.

Stroud’s 1-2-3 fifth included a strikeout and punctuated a pitching performance that saw William Stewart (1-0) work four innings of two-hit, five-strikeout baseball.

Kole Thrasher went 1-for-3 with two runs scored, a walk and an RBI. Alex Sturidvant was 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Stewart went 1-for-1 with a double, three RBIs, two walks and two runs scored. Daniel Sturdivant went 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored.

Wesley Anderson was 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored. Taylor Polk walked and scored two runs. Mason Rogers walked, reached base on a hit-by-pitch and scored a run. Payne Hasty scored a run.

Game two of the double dip saw the Tigers score on in the first, three in the second, two in the third and six in the fourth to again finish off Hale County via the 10-run rule.

Polk (1-0) got the win in that game, working four innings and giving up only two hits and two walks with two strikeouts and one earned run.

Brock Montgomery closed out the game in the fifth, needing only eight pitches to work a perfect inning.

Ramer shifted the lineup noticeably in the second game of the double-header and said that further tinkering is likely as the team assesses its strengths.

“Early in the year, you played around with the order a lot and see who fits where,” Ramer said. “We’re carrying 16 players on the varsity right now and we feel like all 16 can contribute.”

Thrasher led the way for the Tigers out of the leadoff spot, going 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.

Polk went 1-for-1 with a double, an RBI, a run scored, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Rogers went 1-for-2 with a double, an RBI, a walk and a run scored.

Stewart was 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. Josh Mangum went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Walker Davis walked and had two RBIs. Alex Sturdivant reached base on a beanball and scored a run. Daniel Sturdivant had an RBI and scored two runs. Stroud had a run scored and an RBI.

The Tigers are scheduled to play again Friday when Leroy visits Demopolis.