RSS

E-mail

Twitter

Facebook

Tumblr

Trojans win two; one win shy of playoffs

By Chris Edwards
Citizen Journalist

Trojans dodge Spartan bullets

Garner returned to action Tuesday, July 14 as they traveled to Sanderson High School to take the Spartans, the defending East Regional Champions.

For the Trojans, the game could not have started any better as they scored a first-inning run: Jesse Fisher beat out an infield single and later scored on an RBI single from Brett Walters.

The lead would be short-lived, however, as Sanderson scored two runs in the bottom of the first off Trojan starter Jacob Baker. Sanderson’s two runs were aided by three walks, a hit batter and a throwing error as they took a one-run lead.

The score would stay the same with Garner dodging bullet after bullet as Sanderson loaded the bases in both the third and fourth but did not score. Baker would leave the game after loading the bases in the fourth; at the time of his exit, Baker did not surrender a hit, but he walked seven batters and hit two, allowing two runs over his three-and-two-thirds innings.

Garner managed to tie the game in the top of the fourth as Brett Bailey singled with one out. Brett Bailey made it to third on a Brett Walters single and scored on an Alec Hulmes single.

Both teams would have several chances to score over the next three innings, but the game went into extra innings. In the eighth inning, the Trojans pushed two runs across. C.J. Schmitt led off the inning with a double to left field and later advanced to third on a pass ball. Following a walk to Brett Bailey, the Trojans were in business with runners at second and third and only one out.

Sanderson then intentionally walked Matt Powell to load the bases; that’s when Trojan Head Coach Trey Bailey pushed the envelope and called for Alec Hulmes to lay down a bunt as Garner used the squeeze play.

“I love the squeeze play; I will call it in any inning,” Coach Bailey said after the game. “[Hulmes] does a good job getting the bunt down, and C.J. was on third with good wheels. And in a tie game, I have no problem using that play to try and push across one run because our defense was playing well, and we needed to push the run across.”

Hulmes bunted the ball right back to the pitcher Bryan Burke who flipped home, but his toss to the plate sailed over the catcher’s head. The Trojans plated two runs and took a 4-2 lead. The Trojans would leave runners at second and third at the bottom of the eighth.

Powell came out for his second inning of relief work, and after getting the first out with ease, Powell ran into some trouble as he walked the bases loaded and gave up a run on a groundout.

With runners on second and third, Powell got the ground ball he needed: Ben Woodward sent a ground ball toward third, and Aquail Sanders tagged out Jon King going to third to end the game. The Trojans escaped Sanderson with a 4-3 win.

Garner takes out Wake Forest in playoffs quest

Coming into the summer season, the varsity summer league team set out to do something they had never done: Make the summer playoffs. The Trojans were just two wins away from reaching that goal, and all they had to do was defeat Wake Forest Thursday, July 16 and then defeat Knightdale on the road Monday, July 20.

Jackson Pleasant delivers home the pitch for the Trojans in their 6-1 win over Wake Forest at Trojan Park Thursday, July 16. Pleasant pitched a complete game for the Trojans. KEN HALL, KENHALLPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

But first things first; a win was needed in the final home game of the summer against Wake Forest.

Jackson Pleasant got the start for the Trojans. Pleasant was dominant on the bump for the Trojans; after a first-inning run, Pleasant settled down and did not allow a run over the final six innings.

Meanwhile, the Trojans were rolling at the plate. In the first, Jesse Fisher beat out an infield single and later scored on an RBI single from Schmitt. But the Trojans waited until the second inning to bust the game open.

Hulmes led the inning with a double to left center, followed by a Sanders single. Josh Randle followed Sanders with a single to plate Hulmes and give the Trojans a 2-1 lead. After a Will Norris RBI groundout, Fisher singled to right, which scored Randle. The Trojans led 4-1.

After the Trojans added two more runs in the third inning, the scoring ended for the evening. It was pitching and defense that propelled the Trojans to another win over Wake Forest to set the stage for a huge match-up Monday night at Knightdale with first pitch slated for 7 p.m.

If the Trojans can beat Knightdale, they will advance to the playoffs for the first time in summer baseball.

Related articles:

• Powell no-hits Knights; Trojans still lose
• Garner High summer league twice sweeps SSS
• Garner Magnet High School varsity summer league kicks off season

 Print This

Leave a Reply

We believe that reader interaction is a valuable feature on our website and aim to foster an online community that is enriching, robust and respectful. We reserve the right to remove any comment that contains profanity or obscenity; is an advertisement for services or a solicitation of funds; contains a personal attack or a threat; or is unrelated to the story.