By By Earl McKenzie
Sports Writer
When all was said and done, the outcome of the Escambia County Baseball Tournament came down to a three-way tie-breaker.
After beating T.R. Miller 9-5 Thursday, the W.S. Neal Blue Eagles defeated the Escambia County Blue Devils 10-3 Friday. The Flomaton Hurricanes defeated the Blue Eagles 13-7 Saturday but WSN, 2-1 in tournament action, was declared the winner by virtue of winning the tie-breaker.
The county tournament title is the first for WSN since 1992.
The Flomaton Hurricanes, with a 2-1 record, placed second and the T.R. Miller Tigers, also with a 2-1 record placed third. The Escambia County Blue Devils were 0-3 during the tournament.
W.S.N.H.S. 10, ECHS 3
The Blue Eagles batted around in the top of the first inning and took a 4-0 lead before the Blue Devils came to bat. WSN was never behind and won the game 10-3.
After the Blue Eagles' jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but ECHS cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the second. With two men out, Steven Williams and Archie Staples drew back to back walks. John Rehorn followed with a two RBI single.
The Blue Eagles extended their lead to 5-2 after three complete innings. K. Douglas and Hodge reached base via walks. Blair was then hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases. Anthony followed and was also hit by a pitch and Douglas scored.
WSN continued to build on its lead in the fourth.
Rehorn led off the top of the fifth for the Blue Devils with a single. He moved to second on a walk to Mark Rodgers and moved to third on a sacrifice by Jared Carlton. A ground out to second by Matt Patrick allowed Rehorn to score.
W.S. Neal closed out the scoring with a solo home run, which landed on Highway 31, in the bottom of the fifth.
Barrentine, who hit the homerun, was also the winning pitcher for the Blue Eagles. He allowed three runs, three hits, five walks and struck out eight in seven innings.
Adam Young was the losing pitcher for the Blue Devils. He allowed five runs, one hit, seven walks and struck out three in two innings of work. Miles Smith entered the game in relief and allowed five runs, four hits, one walk, hit one batter and struck out two in three innings. Sir Williams walked one, hit one batter and struck out one while pitching the final inning.
Leading the Blue Devils were Rehorn (2-3, 1 RS, 2 RBI), Carlton (1-3, SAC), Young (2 BB), Steven Williams (1 RS, 1 BB), Staples (1 RS, 1 BB, 1 SB) and Rodgers (1 BB).
T.R.M.H.S. 11, ECHS 7
The Tigers came from behind and took an 11-7 victory against the ECHS Blue Devils Saturday.
Craig Montell gave the Blue Devils an early lead after blasting a solo home run in the bottom of the first. Traveis Guy followed with a single and scored later on a Tiger error. After one-half inning of play, ECHS led 1-0.
The Blue Devils scored an additional run in the bottom of the third. Montell led off with a single and Franklin Boykin entered the game as a courtesy runner. Guy then hit another single and Boykin moved to second. Boykin and Guy then executed a double steal. Boykin was then thrown out at home on a fielder's choice hit by Zack Brooks. Guy advanced to third on the play. Keith Bell's sacrifice drove Guy in and the Blue Devils led 3-0.
The Tigers claimed the lead in the top of the fourth as they led off with back to back singles. With two out, a batsmen was hit by a pitch. Luke Smith followed with an infield hit scoring one. Brad Lannom then hit an RBI single and with the bases loaded, antoher batter was hit by a pitch and forcing another run home. Two more runs came in to score before the inning Devils forced the end of the inning.
After the Blue Devils went down in order in the fourth, the Tigers came to bat in the top of the fifth and added five more runs to their lead.
Montell reached base for the Blue Devils in the bottom of the inning with one out. Boykin, running for Montell, moved to second on an error and to third on a single by Guy. A fielder's choice allowed Boykin to score. After five innings of play, TRM led 10-4.
The Tigers tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh.
ECHS made a run during the final half inning and scored three runs, which made the score 11-7. Carlton doubled with one out and scored on an error on a ball hit by Guy. Brooks then walked. An RBI double by Bell scored Guy. Young then singled and drove in Brooks. The third out of the inning was then made and Young was stranded on third base.
Rodgers pitched 4 2/3 innings for ECHS and was credited with the loss. He allowed 10 runs, nine hits, walked one, hit two batters and struck out two. Bell pitched the final 2 1/3 innings and allowed one run, three hits and struck out three.
Offensively, the Blue Devils were led by Guy (3-4, 3 RS, 1 SB), Montell (2-4, 1 RS, 1 HR, 1 SB), Carlton (1-3, 1 RS, 2B), Bell (1-3, 2 RBI, SAC), Young (1-4, 1 RBI, 1 SB), Steven Williams (1-4), Brooks (1 RS, 1 RBI, 1 BB) and Boykin (1 RS) led the Blue Devils.