Coffee County doubles up vs. WCMS baseball team
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But as Warren County Middle School’s varsity team found out Tuesday, that isn’t always the case ‘ especially when that team gives up twice that number.
Coffee County’s Red Raiders plated eight runs over the first two innings of Tuesday’s game, then doubled their total with an eight-run third on the way to an 18-9 rout at Pioneer Park, threatening to end the game via the mercy rule before the Pioneers finally began stringing hits together.
Justin Ware took the hill for the Pioneers, and found himself in a jam early as Coffee County’s first two hitters reached on errors. Dillon Harris followed by lining a hit off Ware’s foot, and both Sean Davis and Jarrett Zeigler singled, with the latter bringing in the Raiders’ second run of the game.
Jonathan Henegar drew a bases-loaded walk, and Brandon Nester reached on another error, driving home Davis. With one out in the inning, Tyler Jones reached on yet another Pioneer error ‘ their fourth of the inning ‘ allowing Jarrett Zeigler to score.
The Pioneers countered with a pair of runs, as Nick Grandey led off the bottom of the first with a double, later scoring on a wild pitch, and Brett Mullican reached on a throwing error, coming home a batter later on a groundout by Derek Brumley.
Coffee County sent 11 batters to the plate in the second, however, scoring three more runs including two on a Jones grounder which went through Mullican’s legs.
The Raider third saw the visiting club erupt for two straight hits, a walk and an RBI single by Henegar, setting the stage for the biggest blow of the game, a grand slam to left by Nester on the first pitch he saw from Grandey, who had come on in the second to relieve Ware. Harris and Zeigler added RBIs later in the inning, as CCMS batted around yet again, sending 13 batters to the dish.
In the bottom of the fourth Warren County scored five more runs, with Nelson Huckeby leading things off with a standup double. Pinch-hitter Collin Hutchings drew a walk, and Grandey drove in a run when his grounder was booted at second.
Mullican plated Hutchings with a fielder’s choice, and Brumley singled to the left side. Austin Green drove in a run with a single to right, and Austin Panter brought home two more on a base hit, trimming the Raider lead to 16-7.
Coffee added two more runs in the top of the sixth, on hits by Jones and Kyle Kirby, and the Pioneers answered with two of their own as Brumley doubled home Grandey and Panter’s groundout brought home Mullican.
In the seventh, Grandey got out of trouble by forcing a pop-up with runners at the corners, but any thoughts of a big seventh-inning comeback were dashed when Raider hurler Dustin Dodd shut the Pioneers down in order in the bottom of the frame, sandwiching a grounder to the box between a pair of strikeouts.
WCMS traveled to Franklin County last night, and will be in action at home today, for a 6 p.m. varsity tilt against Tullahoma.