VALDOSTA — VALDOSTA — Valdosta High’s baseball team scored eight runs in the first inning, and defeated Crisp County 9-4 on Friday at Bazemore Field.
The win improved the Wildcats’ record to 2-3 this season.
Valdosta came out on fire, exploding for eight runs in the first inning. With one out, Brent Robison walked and Chad Prain doubled to right center, putting runners on second and third. Tyler Yelito lined a single to left, and Robison and Prain scored, giving the Wildcats an early 2-0 lead. Ryan Whilden reached on an error and Tanner Allen walked, loading the bases. Then Russ Newbern lined a shot off the top of the left field fence. Yelito and Whilden scored on Newbern’s long single, giving Valdosta a 4-0 lead.
Bo Walthall followed with a double to left off of new pitcher Davis Adkins, scoring Allen. Devontae Foster was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Then Harrison Waller lined a single up the middle, scoring two more runs. One out later, Prain’s infield single scored Foster, giving the Wildcats an 8-0 lead.
“That was a nice way to start,” Valdosta head coach Bart Shuman said. “What concerns us is the next four innings.”
Despite trailing by eight runs, Crisp County wasn’t ready to throw in the towel and concede the victory to Valdosta. The Cougars climbed back into the game with four runs in the third inning, and put runners in scoring position in the second, fifth and sixth innings. After giving up Valdosta’s final run in the first inning, Adkins turned in a superb relief outing, holding Valdosta scoreless for the next four innings. At one point, he retired 10 batters in a row.
Crisp rallied in the top of the third, scoring four runs and cutting the Wildcats’ lead in half. With one out, Will Jones walked, Duff Phinney singled, then Rigdon Ring lined an RBI single to right, scoring Jones. Michael Byron grounded out to third, but Phinney scored, making it 8-2, and an errant throw allowed Ring to move to third. J.D. Slade followed with a line drive double into the corner in left, bringing home another run.
Ellis Coffee singled to left and Slade stopped at third. But the left fielder threw home anyway, and Coffee raced for second. When the catcher threw to second, Slade raced for home and scored Crisp’s fourth run of the inning, making it 8-4.
Crisp loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Valdosta pitcher Ross McLeod struck out Josh Taylor to end the inning and escape the jam. The Cougars loaded the bases with two outs again in the sixth, but VHS reliever Keyuntay Gatlin escaped the jam with another strikeout.
Valdosta put an insurance run on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Waller walked to lead off the inning. Then Robison lined a single into right center. Waller took off as soon as he saw the ball was going to fall in, and never stopped running. He rounded third, raced for home and scored without a throw, making it 9-4.
At the plate, Prain was the only Wildcat with two hits. Valdosta’s nine runs were scored by nine different players. Waller and Newbern drove in two runs apiece.
McLeod earned the victory, pitching 5 2/3 innings, giving up four runs and seven hits and striking out five. Gatlin retired the last four batters he faced, and earned the save.
“Ross pitched well. He’s still growing, but he’s doing well,” Shuman said. “(Gatlin) came in, stayed in the strike zone with a four-run lead, and that was what we needed.”
Valdosta travels to Tallahassee to play Leon on Tuesday.
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Related Photos
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Valdosta High second baseman Harrison Waller (8) throws the ball over Crisp County third baseman Ellis Coffee (3) after tagging him out at the game Friday night. Jonathan M. Chick
Discussion
Wildcats beat Crisp
Valdosta scores 8 in first, wins 9-4
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