Have Yourself a Day: Senior propels Longhorns to state title series
LINDEN, Ala. – Marengo Academy coach Woodie Beck has sung the praises of senior Austen Day all season. Friday, Day took center stage in propelling the Longhorns to a 10-0 series-clinching victory over Patrician.
Day, who is now 7-1 on the season, faced only 20 batters in five innings while striking out two batters and relinquishing only two hits in the five-inning shutout. Day also helped himself at the plate with a 3-for-3 day that included a homer, a double and four RBIs.
“He has done it all year. He has been clutch for me all year,” Beck said of Day following the win. “The only loss he had was early in the year at Macon-East. Words can’t describe how proud I am of him. He was 3-for-3 at the plate. The kid has just battled all year.”
Marengo staked the senior starter to a 3-0 lead in the first inning when a Davis Petrey double and a Jacob Beck bunt single preceded a Weldon Aydelott shot that cleared the score board beyond the leftfield fence.
The Longhorns tacked on another run in the second inning when Day helped his own cause with a leadoff homer to push the advantage to 4-0. Marengo hung another three-spot in the bottom of the third with three straight two out singles. Cody Cobb singled in Brad Collins. Day later stepped to the plate and roped a single that plated Dalton Daniels and Cobb to move the lead to 7-0.
“I told them before the game, ‘Champions bounce back.’ They bounced back and played good ball today,” Beck said of his team, which notched 12 hits on the day. “We came in this morning about two hours early and they got in the cage and hit. They were just focused today. I thought focus was the main thing for us today. When they set their mind to something, this group is hard to beat.”
Collins stroked a two-out single in the bottom of the fourth to drive in Petrey and Aydelott for the 9-0 advantage. Marengo capped the scoring in the fifth when Robert Tutt entered the game as a pinch-hitter and singled up the middle to plate courtesy runner Casey Cramer.
In addition to sealing the win, the moment was somewhat poetic for the Longhorns, who lost Tutt to an injury earlier in the season.
“When Robert had that surgery, the doctors told him, ‘You’re done for the year.’ Robert came and told me, ‘Coach, I’m not.’ That just tells you what kind of kids we have here at Marengo,” Beck said. “He has worked his tail off and I am super proud of Robert that he gets to come back. I know he is super excited to be back.”
The win advances Marengo (28-7) to Tuesday’s state championship series with Eastwood.
“I know they’re a really good baseball team. I’ve talked to several coaches,” Beck said. “They do a lot of hit-and-runs. They bunt the ball well. They’ve got a lot of speed. I know one through six, they’re really, really good. I heard that had three really good arms. It’s going to be a good matchup for us and we’re excited to go play them.”
The doubleheader is set to being at 3 p.m. at Paterson Field in Montgomery. The third game would take place Wednesday if needed.