Marengo, Patrician split playoff doubleheader, look to Game 3

LINDEN, Alabama – The AISA Class A semifinal round is far from decided after Marengo Academy and Patrician split a doubleheader Wednesday afternoon.

Patrician 5, Marengo 3

The Saints used a big third inning to string together four runs and propel themselves to a 5-3 win over their nearby rivals in game one of the series. Lee McBride drew a leadoff walk before Brantley Ward ripped a double that narrowly missed leaving the yard. With a pair of runners in scoring position and nobody out, Jordan Brownlee poked a single through the infield to plate McBride for the 1-0 lead.

“They’re patient hitters. They’re a couple of our better hitters and they’ve been hot for us all year,” Patrician coach Jonathan Lindsey said of McBride, Ward and Brownlee, the 9-1-2 hitters in his lineup.

Seth Koen followed with a double to drive in Ward to make it 2-0 in favor of Patrician. After Brownlee scored on a passed ball, Stone Newton hit into a fielder’s choice that allowed Koen to score for the 4-0 advantage.

Patrician scratched out one more run in the top of the fourth as McBride legged out an infield hit and advanced on Ward’s single before scoring on a two-base throwing error for the 5-0 lead.

The Longhorns, meanwhile, scuffled at the plate for much of the game. Marengo stranded 14 runners in the contest and left the bases loaded in the second, third and sixth innings.

“Their pitchers did a great job of keeping us off balance, but you can’t leave that many runners on base and win. We’ve got to find ways to get these guys in,” Marengo coach Woodie Beck said. “We left the bases loaded three times. We didn’t do a very good job of getting runs in. You know, we’ve got to get better at that. One thing we’ve got to work on and get better at is producing runs.”

The Longhorns finally got on the board in the sixth when Cody Cobb parlayed a one-out hit-by-pitch into a run after Weldon Aydelott drew a bases-loaded walk for the RBI. The Longhorns left the bases loaded again and had plenty of work left to do in the bottom of the seventh.

Brad Collins and Austen Day opened the frame with back-to-back singles before John Parker Brock ripped a two-out single to plate a run and cut it to 5-2. Davis Petrey followed with a run-producing single of his own to narrow it to 5-3 with the tying runs aboard.

McBride slammed the door with a strikeout to end the game.

“Even though they were faced with a lot of adversity, they were able to bow their neck and get outs, make pitches when they needed to,” Lindsey said of his pitchers in game one. Blake Reid got the win, working six innings and striking out one while scattering five hits, walking four batters and beaning four others. McBride fanned two in the seventh and worked around four hits while allowing two runs.

David Dunn struck out 10 and surrendered eight hits in the complete game loss for the Longhorns.

Marengo 7, Patrician 2

The Longhorns woke the bats up early in game two and pieced together enough offense to back the efforts of Davis Petrey on the mound in a 7-2 victory. Jacob Beck turned a hit-by-pitch into a run in the first inning when Dunn drove him in with a single. Weldon Aydelott singled and later scored on a wild pitch for the 2-0 lead.

Marengo padded the advantage in the third when Aydelott singled, stole second and later scored on a wild pitch for the second time. The lead jumped to 5-0 in the fourth as Cobb walked and scored on Petrey’s RBI single. After a Brock single, the Longhorns pulled off a double steal that allowed Petrey to swipe home on a delayed steal for the 5-0 lead.

Patrician chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Carson Jimerson singled and later scored on a double play ball.

Marengo moved it to 7-1 in the fifth when Dunn and Collins opened the frame with back-to-back singles before Dalton Daniels hit a two-run double that plated courtesy runner Hunter Parker and Collins.

The Saints found themselves in much the same boat as sank the Longhorns in game one, getting runners aboard and failing to cash in. Patrician left 10 runners on base in the contest.

“Davis did a good job of keeping us off balance. They made the plays defensively,” Lindsey said of Petrey’s effort on the mound. “We didn’t have a good approach at the plate. Hopefully we change that tomorrow.”

“Davis did a good job. I was proud of him. He threw his curveball a lot for strikes. He did a good job,” Beck said of his starter, who picked up the win while tossing five innings and allowing four hits and one run.

Patrician scratched out one more run in the sixth as Morgan Graham drew a leadoff walk and scored on Brownlee’s sacrifice fly to left. Collins worked the last two innings to close it for the Longhorns.

“Brad hadn’t thrown in a month or so, but he came in and did a good job closing. I was glad to see Brad throw as well as he did,” Beck said.

Game three is set for 1 p.m. Thursday, weather permitting. In the event of rain, the game would occur at 1 p.m. Friday. Both coaches expressed confidence in where their respective pitching staffs sit following the doubleheader.

“I think we’re okay. I’ve still got Austen Day, I’ve got Jacob (Beck), I’ve got Trey. I’ve got plenty of arms left,” Beck said.

“We’ve still got some arms to throw at them. If they show up and throw strikes, it’ll be an interesting game,” Lindsey said.