Tigers lose area opener in extras

Published 10:31 pm Tuesday, March 24, 2009

After falling at home to Thomasville 12-1 Monday, Demopolis (5-15) lost its first area contest of the season Tuesday when it fell to Carver 9-7 on the road.

“We had opportunities to win the ball game and we didn’t get the job done in situations that would have won the game,” DHS head coach Ben Ramer said.

Demopolis took an early 3-0 lead in the third inning before Carver rallied to tie in the home half.

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The Tigers jumped back in front with a run in the top of the fourth before the Wolverines put up three in the fifth.

“Our kids played hard,” Ramer said. “But we didn’t execute.”

The Tigers countered with three of their own in the sixth to take a 7-6 lead into the seventh inning.

“At the end of the game, we’re up 7-6 and they hit a little candy hop to the shortstop, routine play and we boot it,” Ramer said. “Make that play and we win the ball game.”

Carver posted one run in the seventh to send the game to extra innings.

In the bottom of the eighth, Carver came up with a two-run walkoff home run to win the game.

“We left a couple breaking balls up and the Pitts kid hit them out,” Ramer said of Carver’s Andrew Pitts, who had two home runs in the game.

Shelby Speegle pitched six innings and struck out nine in the game while Trey Oates pitched three and struck out four.

Kole Thrasher went 2-for-5 with two doubles in the game. Larry Dunn went 2-for-5 with a double and two runs. Speegle went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Will Hill went 1-for-2 with three RBIs. Oates went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Jacob Kerby scored two runs while Ben Pettus and Logan Holley each scored one.

“It’s the same things that you always have to work on to win ball games,” Ramer said. “We left a lot of runners on base.”

The loss comes on the heels of a Monday night affair in which the Tigers saw the five through nine batters in their order go a combined 1-for-10.

In that game, Speegle went 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI. Thrasher went 1-for-3 and scored the Tigers’ only run. Hill and Kerby each had singles.

Demopolis’ next eight games are scheduled to be against area competition. The Tigers are slated to host Carver in a double-header Friday.

“Our backs are against the wall Friday,” Ramer said. “We’ve got a double-header at our place and we’ve got to win them both.”