Tiger effort valiant, but not enough
Published 12:00 am Friday, April 25, 2008
DEMOPOLIS &8212; It was a hitters&8217; night from the outset as Demopolis and John Carroll combined to score 47 runs in two game Friday with DHS coming out on the short end, losing 15-13 and 10-9.
The Tigers&8217; offensive onslaught in game one was highlighted by homeruns from Drew Waldrop and Ben Pettus, while the second game featured a
round-tripper from Larry Dunn.
The Waldrop homerun came in the bottom of the third inning and followed a Palmer O&8217;Neal double to put the Tigers on top. The blast was one of many momentum shifts in a back-and-forth battle that left the Tigers&8217; down 15-10 going into their final at-bat.
Pettus homered on the first pitch to start the DHS rally. Scott Cannon followed, reaching on an error to give the Tigers&8217; a much-need base runner. Shelby Speegle kept the rally alive with a single up the middle to score Cannon. After a John Mackey walk, O&8217;Neal doubled down the left field line, plating Speegle.
With runners on second and third and no one out, the next three Tiger batters were unable to put the ball in play, striking out to end the game.
Game two saw the Tigers build a 6-0 lead before errors and free passes added up to a seven-run Cavalier third inning. Demopolis responded in the fourth when Cannon scored on an infield hit by O&8217;Neal. A throwing error on the play allowed Speegle to score and handed DHS the 8-7 lead.
The Tigers held that lead until the bottom of the fifth when JCHS jumped back on top 9-8. That is where the score stood when the DHS stepped into the batter&8217;s box facing its final three outs.
O&8217;Neal singled to start the inning, moving to second when Lary Dunn reached on an error. A Jacob Kerby singled allowed O&8217;Neal to score from second and tie the game.
With his pitch count well over 100, Cannon returned to the mound to pitch the seventh. The senior fanned two batters in the inning, bringing his total to eight. . With two runners on and two out, John Carroll was able to score the winning run on a single that found its way past the shortstop and the third baseman.