Middle school baseball edged by F.C. North

WCMS first baseman Garrison Holmes waits on a throw as Trey Henshaw of the Franklin County North Gators heads for first during the second inning of Thursday’s game at Pioneer Park.

The Gators, who had rallied with two runs in the top of the sixth, cut a potential Pioneer comeback short in the bottom of the seventh, when with two men on base a line shot which was hauled in by Gator second-baseman Layton Wells, ending the game.

The Pioneers had fallen behind 2-0 after the first half-inning, thanks to an RBI double by Trent Long, who later scored from third on a wild pitch.

But WCMS answered with a four-run first of its own, beginning when Nick Grandey drew a walk and Brett Mullican reached on a catcher’s interference call.

Starting pitcher Derek Brumley walked to load the bases, and Austin Green came through with a two-run single to center field, advancing to second on the Gators’ throw while Collin Hutchins ‘ on as a courtesy runner for Brumley ‘ took third. Hutchins scored on a bunt to the right side by Garrison Holmes, and Green came home when Justin Ware laced a base hit to left field.

Franklin County retook the lead with three runs in the second, courtesy of an RBI grounder by Long and a long fly by Justin Rose which was dropped in right, allowing two unearned runs to score.

The Gators padded their lead in the fourth, when Long once again came through with a big hit ‘ this time a two-run homer over the left field fence. But the Pioneers got back into the game in the bottom of the fifth, tying the score at 7-all when Brumley’s dribbler to second was bobbled, allowing both Grandey, who had walked, and Mullican, who was hit by a pitch, to score. Hutchins came on to run again, scoring on a Holmes single to left with two out in the frame.

The tie score didn’t last long, however, as the Gators got to Brumley with two out in the sixth. Leadoff man James Stovall drew a walk, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a double from Long ‘ his third hit of the game. Rose followed with a single to right, plating Long and bringing on Pioneer reliever Justin Ware, who fanned Wells to end the inning.

The Pioneers’ scheduled game with Shelbyville yesterday was postponed, and will be made up at a later date. The team’s next scheduled contest is set for Tuesday, at home against Coffee County. Game time is set for 5 p.m. For continuously updated schedule information for the WCMS baseball team, fans can log on to wcmsbaseball.com.