7th inning rally puts DHS over Wetumpka

Published 1:12 pm Saturday, February 25, 2012

A walk-off RBI single by Daniel Sturdivant capped a two-run rally to hand Demopolis (4-0) a 5-4 win over Wetumpka Saturday.

“We told our kids when we met right before the seventh inning that we hadn’t been in one like that yet,” Demopolis head coach Ben Ramer said. “Winning by seven and eight runs is nice, but we needed to test ourselves. As you go on in the season and get into the playoffs, you need to have been in those situations.”

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, the Tigers exercised discipline at the plate and managed to coax their way into a bases-loaded, nobody out situation.

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Brock Montgomery led off the inning by absorbing ball four off his right leg. Mason Rogers and Alex Sturdivant followed by drawing walks.

The hot-hitting William Stewart stepped in and stroked an RBI single that plated Montgomery to tie the game before Daniel Sturdivant ripped a bases-loaded, nobody out single to send Rogers home and the Tigers back to the win column.

The rally came only minutes after Demopolis surrendered a two-out single in the top of the seventh that put Class 6A Wetumpka up 4-3 with its first lead of the game.

Rogers quickly squelched what was left of that rally by gunning down a Wetumpka baserunner at second to keep the damage to a minimum and get the 2-3-4 spots in the Tigers batting order to the plate for the home half of the frame.

Wetumpka previously had an opportunity to tie the game in the top of the sixth when Devin Stroud stranded the Indians’ potential tying run at third to wiggle off the hook.

The Tigers manufactured their fifth-inning run when Rogers reached on an error by the Wetumpka third baseman and gave way to courtesy runner Walker Davis. Alex Sturdivant followed with a single to right that moved Davis over to third before Stewart pushed him across the plate and put Demopolis up 3-2 with a RBI sacrifice fly to right field.

Demopolis scored in the fourth inning when Payne Hasty reached on an infield single and gave way to a pinch runner, that later scored on a two-out balk.

Montgomery scored the first run of the game in the home half of the first inning.

Wetumpka’s first two runs both came as the result of leadoff walks in the second and fifth innings.

Stewart and Alex Sturdivant each had two of the Tigers’ nine hits in the contest. Montgomery, Hasty, Rogers and Daniel Sturdivant each had a single while Kole Thrasher stroked a double for his only hit of the game.

Davis picked up the win by virtue of having thrown two pitches in the top of the seventh before Rogers gunned down the Wetumpka runner to end the inning.

Taylor Polk started the game, going four and two-thirds innings and scattering four hits and three walks while striking out two and surrendering two earned runs. Stroud gave up two runs, one earned over two innings of work.

The Tigers are scheduled to play again at 3 p.m. against Jackson in the final game of their weekend tournament.