Demopolis season ends in playoff loss to Marbury

MARBURY — Demopolis (13-15) saw its season come to an end Friday when it dropped both ends of a second round playoff doubleheader to Marbury.

“What’s important in life, most of you get,” Demopolis coach James Moody told his team following the game two loss. “It’s a game and it hurts. There’s nothing about it that is supposed to feel good. But you lose together and you win together.”

Demopolis fell 12-2 in game one as Marbury needed only five hits to cash in a five-inning win. The Bulldogs amassed four hit batsmen and proved the beneficiaries of five errors en route to the win.

The Tigers did coax their way into five walks in the contest, stringing together three straight free passes to load the bases with one out in the fifth. Ryan Schroeder scored when Jay Craig was hit by a pitch. Wil Stephens then picked up a RBI on a fielder’s choice that plated Chandler Barton to cut the deficit to 7-2.

Marbury (23-12) used a hit batter, a walk, three singles and two errors to put together a five-run rally in the fifth and end the game.

“We did not play our best baseball today, but this group has put us somewhere we have not been in a few years,” Moody said to his team of their accomplishment in earning its way the second round for the first time since 2012. “You have nothing to walk off this field and be ashamed of, but you see where we have to get to in order to compete.”

The Tigers took an early lead in game two in the most unorthodox of ways. R.J. Cox struck out to apparently end the first inning. The Marbury catcher dropped the third strike and the Bulldogs headed off the field. Cox alertly made his way around the bases before Marbury realized its mistake. The play resulted in a four-base error that allowed Cox to put his team up 1-0.

Jacob Rodrigues led off the second inning with an opposite field homer to stretch the lead to 2-0. Ryan Schroeder scored on a Jay Craig double in the third to set the lead at 3-0. Marbury stormed back in the fourth, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring four runs on four hits to take a 4-3 lead.

Demopolis tied the game in the sixth when Seth Aiken hit his second double of the day, scoring Clay White from second on the play.

Marbury used three hits to score two more runs in the seventh and give Marbury the lead.

Cox drew a two-out walk in the seventh and gave way to senior Matthew Trest as a courtesy runner. The Tigers were unable to cash in on the chance, leaving Trest at first to end the season.