Tigers score 14 runs on seven hits in skunking of Sipsey
Demopolis (2-0) exercised plenty of patience Friday night, drawing 11 walks from four Sipsey Valley pitchers en route to a 14-2 victory in its home opener
Sipsey Valley used two hits and a sacrifice fly in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Demopolis erased the deficit in the home half of the frame when Charles Casper doubled home Hunter Colyar to tie it. Casper later scored on an error to put Demopolis up 2-1.
The Tigers cashed in on a leadoff walk in the second when DeDe Davis scored on R.J. Cox’s RBI single to move the lead to 3-1. Two batters later, Jonathan Lewis smoked a triple into the left-centerfield gap to score Colyar and Hudson Holley and stretch the lead to 5-1.
“I thought we barreled some balls up, hit some balls hard when we had opportunity to knock some runs in,” Demopolis coach James Moody said. “That’s the name of the game. When you get them out there, you’ve got to find a way to get them in and I thought we did a good job of that.”
Demopolis blew the game open in the third inning, hanging eight runs on the board on three hits. Andrew Patterson scored on a Chandler Barton walk. Wesley Allgood scored on Cox’s sacrifice fly. Casper singled in Davis. Ryan Morrison drew a bases-loaded walk to score Barton. Casper made it home on a wild pitch and the Tigers led 10-1. Allgood then made the most of his second at-bat of the inning as he ripped a three-run triple to plate Henry Overmyer, Morrison and Patterson.
“It helps because it doesn’t allow them to pitch around some guys when the guys at the bottom are swinging it,” Moody said of Allgood’s big night out of the eighth spot in the lineup. “He had a big hit last (Monday). Hhe had an RBI double. They’re seeing it pretty good right now. We’ll take it because there’ve been days we haven’t seen it real good.”
The final Tiger run of the game came in the bottom of the fourth when Casper drove in Barton with a single to push the advantage to 14-1.
Barton finished with two walks, two runs scored and one RBI. Colyar was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Cox went 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. Casper was 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored. Lewis was 1-for-3 with a triple, a walk and two RBIs. Morrison walked, drove in one and scored a run.
Patterson walked three times and scored twice. Allgood finished 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBIs and a run scored. Davis walked twice, stole a base and scored two runs.
Cox recorded the win, working four and a third innings while striking out three and surrendering two runs on six hits.
“R.J. threw a lot of pitches for a first outing, but I knew he was going to have at least a week off if not longer. He got a little tired. He was a little juiced up,” Moody said of his starting pitcher’s efficiency in light of the new AHSAA pitch count rules. “When you don’t make them swing the bat with the pitch count, it’s a problem. There’s no question about it. It’s a problem. You’ve got to throw strikes and make them put the ball in play to keep pitch counts down. We were decent at it tonight. We’ll take a win like that any time. We sure will.”
The Tigers are set to host Hale County and 11 a.m. Saturday before playing Sweet Water at 3 p.m.
“Just to continue doing what we’re doing. Our offense is putting pressure on defense. Pitchers are throwing the ball across the plate. I think fast starts are crucial,” Moody said of his expectations for his team headed into Saturday’s twin bill. The Tigers picked up their first win of the season Monday with an 11-0 victory over Clarke County.