Holley, Petrey combine to fan 16 for Area 7 win
Demopolis turned to its top two pitchers Friday night to get over the top in a tightly-contested contest against a game Class 5A, Area 7 opponent. Hudson Holley toed the rubber for four innings and battled his way through four innings on 75 pitches while striking out seven batters and scattering three walks and a hit. He allowed one unearned run. Davis Petrey followed with three hitless innings that included nine strikeouts and a walk on 45 pitches.
Central took a 1-0 lead with two outs in the top of the third inning. After Nate Johnson executed a perfect push bunt for the only Falcon hit of the game, Marcus McVay reached on a fielder’s choice and gave way to courtesy runner Demetrious Crowell. When Crowell got too far off second base, Holley threw behind him. With Crowell in a rundown scenario, the Tigers fired wildly to third, allowing Crowell to score on the play.
The 1-0 Central lead proved short-lived as the Tigers denied the Falcons their shutdown inning in the bottom half of the frame. DeDe Davis reached on an error ahead of a Charles Casper single to left. Hunter Thrash followed with a single to center to plate Davis and tie the game. Holley then made himself the pitcher of record when he hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Casper for the 2-1 lead.
The score stayed there until the bottom of the sixth. Peyton Geary reached on an error and Hayes Atkins drew a walk. With two away in the inning, Petrey singled in courtesy runner Jake Malone. Central’s throw to the plate was overshot, allowing Atkins to score. The Falcons then tried to throw down to get Petrey at third when a second errant throw allowed the Tiger junior to score on the play for the 5-1 advantage.
Holley (5-0) picked up the win in the game, lowering his season ERA to 1.34 and his WHIP to 1.00 in the process.
Demopolis (10-4, 3-0) travels to Plantersville Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. for an Area 7 contest against Dallas County. Friday’s win runs the Tigers current streak to 10 consecutive games.