By By Matthew Nascone
The Flomaton Hurricanes swept through Atmore Feb. 19, taking two games from the host Escambia County Blue Devils on the baseball diamond.
"We played OK out there," ECHS head coach Jonathan Rasberry said. "But our defense let us down throughout both games."
In the first game, Flomaton scored one run in the first inning and two in the second to take an early 3-0 lead, but the Devils stormed back with two runs in the third to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Hurricanes added two more runs in the fourth inning to push the lead to 5-2. Each team scored one run in the fifth and sixth innings for the final of 7-4.
Rasberry said the team played well, but they couldn't utilize scoring opportunities.
"We had plenty of opportunities to score," he said. "And we had an opportunity to tie the game in the final inning when we had two men on and we had one of our better hitters at the plate. But we couldn't capitalize and we lost the game."
Sophomore pitcher Hayden McGill (0-1) took the loss for the Blue Devils on the mound. He allowed six runs, four earned, on seven hits. He struck out four batters and walked four in five innings pitched.
"Hayden pitched a great game for us," Rasberry said. "We kept him in longer than we wanted to because he was pitching well."
Freshman Marshall Rolin threw the final two innings for the Blue Devils, allowing one earned run on no hits. He struck out two and walked two.
At the plate, junior catcher Eric Coley led the way, going 2-for-3 with one RBI, one run scored and was hit by a pitch once. Junior Nico Johnson also went 2-for-3 with one RBI. Junior Cody Vickrey scored two runs and was walked three times. Senior Mitchell Rolin also scored one run.
In the second game of the double header, Coley led the Devils, going 2-for-3 again with a double, a home run, two RBIs and one run scored, but ECHS lost 10-3.
"All day Eric Coley was swinging the bat well," Rasberry said. "He helped us a lot."
Johnson was 1-for-3 with a double and one RBI and Mitchell Rolin and Thomas each scored one run.
The Devils and the Hurricanes each scored two runs in the first inning and ECHS grabbed their first lead of the day in the third inning with one run scored.
Flomaton rode a couple ECHS errors to a four-run inning in the third inning and a 6-3 lead.
"We have a little ways to go because we made some errors and we also made some mental mistakes in the game," Rasberry said.
The Hurricanes added two runs in the sixth and two in the seventh for the final of 10-3.
Vickrey (0-1) took the loss for ECHS, allowing six runs, two earned, on five hits in five innings. He struck out seven batters and walked four. Senior Justin Rolin and junior Michael Thomas each pitched one inning in relief. Rolin allowed two unearned runs on one hit and Thomas allowed two unearned runs on no hits. Both players walked one batter.
The Blue Devils traveled to Florala for the Florala Tournament Friday and Saturday. Results will be in an upcoming Advance. Up next for the Blue Devils is the Escambia County Tournament Feb. 29-March 1 in East Brewton at W.S. Neal High School.