By By ZACH BROOKS
Sports Writer
The Escambia County High School Blue Devils barely escaped with a 5-4 win over the upstart Flomaton High School Hurricanes last Tuesday night in Atmore.
The Blue Devils came into the game looking to improve their 1-1 record on the season and to get above .500 in the win column.
The game also had extra motivation because the Devils wanted to keep their bragging rights over the Flomaton-Atmore area. The Devils defeated the Hurricanes 3/4 times last year, and wanted to continue the streak this year.
Well the Devils got their bragging rights, but Flomaton made them work very hard for the hard-fought victory.
The game started very well for the Devils as they used timely hitting and patience at the plate, to score three runs in the bottom of the first inning, and take the lead 3-0.
The Hurricanes stormed right back in the top of the second inning, as they scored three runs of their own to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the bottom of the second.
Neither team would score in the bottom of the third, fourth, and fifth innings as the game became a pitching duel between Blue Devil starter Mark Rodgers and Hurricanes starter Emanuel Bethea.
Both pitchers used timely strikeouts and good defense to put goose eggs on the scoreboard, and neither pitcher could get any run support until the sixth inning.
In the sixth inning, Bethea finally started to show some wear and tear as he cracked and walked Franklin Boykin on a 3-2 pitch to put a runner on first with one out.
Boykin then stole second base to get into scoring position for batter Chase McGhee. McGhee then came through in the clutch as he smoked a line-drive into left field to score Boykin from first and give the Devils a one-run lead at 4-3.
The Devils then scored another run as Derrick Martin scored on a Craig Montel fielders choice to make the score 5-3 heading into the deciding seventh inning.
The Hurricanes would not go down easy however, as they had a little rally of their own on Blue Devil closer Adam Young. The Hurricanes scored one run to make the score 5-4 and had another runner on second base with two outs before Young could close the door with his seventh strikeout of the night, and give the Blue Devils the 5-4 win.
Adam Young led the Blue Devils offensively, as went 2/2 with one RBI and one run. Derrick Martin followed for the Devils as he went 1/2 with two runs scored. Craig Montel and Chase McGhee also went 1/3 for the Devils with McGhee also having the huge RBI.
Adam Young got the win on the mound for the Devils, as he came in and had another dominating pitching performance. He pitched three innings for the Devils, allowing no hits, one run(unearned), four walks, and seven strikeouts. Seven of the nine outs he retired were strikeouts. Young has been truly dominating this year. He has 12 strikeouts in six innings of work and has a ERA of 0.00.
Starter Mark Rodgers also pitched a good game for the Devils. He pitched four innings, allowing three hits, three runs (one earned), three walks, and had two strikeouts.
The Blue Devils next game will be against the W.S. Neal Blue Eagles on Fri. March 1 at 6:00. The game will be at home, and will be for both J.V. and varsity teams. The J.V. game will start at 4:00. Admission will be $ 3.00.